CN104950445A - Virtual image display device and head-mounted display - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a virtual image display device with a simple structure and capable of amplifying image light, and a head-mounted display equipped with such a virtual image display device and easily recognized by observers. The virtual image display device (1) includes: an image generator (3) that generates image light modulated based on an image signal; an optical element (5) having an incident surface (56) on which the image light emitted from the image generator is incident; and the exit surface (57) that emits the image light whose cross-sectional area is enlarged after the image light incident on the incident surface, the optical element (5) has: connect the incident surface and the exit surface and guide the image light emitted from the image generating part The first light guide part (51) and the second light guide part (52); are arranged between the first light guide part and the second light guide part, reflect a part of the image light emitted from the image generating part and make the image The first light branching layer (54) through which part of the light passes, and the image light emitted from the image generating unit obliquely enters the first light branching layer.

Description

Virtual image display device and head-mounted display

technical field

The invention relates to a virtual image display device and a head-mounted display.

Background technique

In recent years, for example, as a virtual image display device capable of forming and observing a virtual image such as a head-mounted display (HMD), various types that use a light guide plate to guide image light from a display element to the observer's eyeballs have been proposed. installation.

As such a virtual image display device, for example, a head-mounted display disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

The head-mounted display described in Patent Document 1 is a head-mounted display that is easily recognized by a viewer by having a structure in which video light incident on pupils operates in unison with the movement of human eyes. However, in such a head-mounted display, in order to match the movement of the human eye with the image light entering the pupil, a mechanism for detecting the position of the eyeball and a structure for changing the position of the exit pupil (eyepiece, image light, etc.) are required. The position change mechanism of the injection unit, the control unit), etc., so there is a problem that the structure is complicated.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-75956

Contents of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a virtual image display device capable of magnifying image light with a simple structure, and a head-mounted display equipped with such a virtual image display device and easily recognized by a viewer.

Such objects are achieved by the present invention described below.

The virtual image display device of the present invention is characterized in that,

The above-mentioned virtual image display device includes:

an image generating unit that generates image light modulated based on the image signal; and

An optical element having an incident surface and an output surface, the image light emitted from the image generation unit enters the incident surface, and the image having a cross-sectional area enlarged by the image light incident on the incident surface is emitted from the output surface. Light,

The optical elements described above have:

a first light guide part and a second light guide part, the first light guide part and the second light guide part connect the incident surface and the exit surface, and guide the image light emitted from the image generating part; and

a first light splitting layer, which is provided between the first light guide part and the second light guide part, reflects a part of the image light emitted from the image generating part, and transmits a part of the image light,

The image light emitted from the image generation unit is obliquely incident on the first light branching layer.

Accordingly, it is possible to provide a virtual image display device having a simple structure and capable of amplifying video light generated by the image generating unit.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the optical element has a first one-dimensional array in which the first light guide part and the second light guide part are arranged one-dimensionally along the first direction.

As a result, the image light generated by the image generation unit can be multiple-reflected within the optical element, and thus the image light can be further amplified.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the optical element has a second light guide unit and a second light guide unit arranged one-dimensionally in a second direction different from the first direction. dimensional array,

The second one-dimensional array is arranged such that the image light emitted from the output surface of one of the first one-dimensional arrays enters the incident surface of the second one-dimensional array.

Thereby, the image light generated by the image generating unit can be amplified in the first direction and the second direction.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the output surface of the first one-dimensional array is connected to the input surface of the second one-dimensional array.

Thereby, light utilization efficiency can be further improved.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, preferably constituted as, the above-mentioned optical element also has:

a third light guide part, which connects the above-mentioned incident surface and the above-mentioned exit surface, and guides the above-mentioned image light; and

a second light branching layer, which is provided between the first light guide part and the third light guide part, reflects a part of the image light and transmits a part of the image light,

The first light guide part and the second light guide part are arranged in a first direction, and the first light guide part and the third light guide part are arranged in a second direction different from the first direction.

Thereby, the image light generated by the image generating unit can be amplified in the first direction and the second direction.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the first light guide part and the second light guide part on the incident surface along the direction in which the first light guide part and the second light guide part are arranged Widths of the light portions are smaller than widths of the image light along a direction in which the first light guides and the second light guides are arranged.

Thereby, the image light generated by the image generation unit can be multiple-reflected in the optical element, and the uniformity of the intensity distribution of the image light emitted from the output surface can be further improved.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that absolute values of inclination angles of the incident surface and the outgoing surface with respect to the first light branching layer are the same.

Thereby, the amount of refraction of the image light incident on the incident surface can be made the same as the amount of refraction of the image light emitted from the output surface, thereby preventing the occurrence of chromatic aberration.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the virtual image display device further includes a light deflection unit that deflects the image light emitted from the emission surface of the optical element toward the eyes of the observer,

The light deflection unit has a hologram element.

Accordingly, it is possible to easily adjust the angle and beam state of the image light guided to the observer's eyes.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the virtual image display device further includes an enlargement light guide unit for two-dimensionally enlarging the image light emitted from the optical element,

The above-mentioned amplifying light guide part has:

a light incident part, the above-mentioned image light is incident on the light incident part;

The first amplifying light guide part has a first reflective surface provided obliquely with respect to the incident direction of the image light incident on the light incident part, and is provided in parallel with the first reflective surface to reflect a part of the image light and make the a second reflective surface through which a part of the image light passes; and

The second enlarged light guide part guides the image light transmitted through the second reflective surface.

Thereby, the image light emitted from the optical element can be multiple-reflected by the first amplifying light guide part and the second amplifying light guide part, and the above-mentioned image light can be further amplified.

In the virtual image display device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the image generating unit includes a light source that emits light, and an optical scanner that scans the light emitted from the light source.

Thereby, clear image light can be made incident on the optical element.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the image generating unit includes a light source and a spatial light modulator for modulating light emitted from the light source based on the video signal.

Thereby, clear image light can be made incident on the optical element.

In the virtual image display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the image generation unit includes an organic EL panel.

Thereby, clear image light can be made incident on the magnifying optical unit, and the size of the image generating unit can be reduced.

The head-mounted display of the present invention is characterized in that it includes the virtual image display device of the present invention and is installed on the head of the observer.

Accordingly, it is possible to provide a head-mounted display that is easily recognized by a viewer.

In the head-mounted display according to the present invention, it is preferable that the optical element is arranged so that, in a state of being attached to the head of the observer, it enlarges the optical element from the The cross-sectional area of the image light emitted from the emitting surface of the optical element.

Accordingly, it is possible to provide a head-mounted display that is more easily recognized by a viewer.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a head-mounted display including a virtual image display device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the head-mounted display shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the virtual image display device shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an image generation unit shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a drive signal of a drive signal generator shown in FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the light scanning unit shown in FIG. 4 .

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view along the X1 axis) of the optical scanning unit shown in Fig. 6 .

Fig. 8 is a figure showing the schematic structure of the optical element shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 8 (a) is a front view, Fig. 8 (b) is a plan view, Fig. 8 (c) is a right view, Fig. 8 (d) is Figure on the left.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the path of image light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 8 .

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the path of image light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 8 .

11 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of optical elements included in the virtual image display device of the second embodiment, FIG. 11( a ) is a front view, FIG. 11( b ) is a top view, and FIG. 11( c ) is a right side view, Fig. 11(d) is a diagram on the left side.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the path of image light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 11 .

13 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an optical element included in a virtual image display device according to a third embodiment, FIG. 13( a ) is a front view, FIG. 13( b ) is a plan view, and FIG. 13( c ) is a right side view, Fig. 13(d) is a diagram on the left side.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the path of image light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 13 .

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing optical elements included in a virtual image display device according to a fourth embodiment, FIG. 15( a ) is a plan view, and FIG. 15( b ) is a side view.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the path of image light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 15 .

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image generating unit included in a virtual image display device according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image generation unit included in a virtual image display device according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image generation unit included in a virtual image display device according to a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image generation unit included in a virtual image display device according to an eighth embodiment.

Figure 21 is a figure showing another example of the optical element shown in Figure 3, Figure 21 (a) is a front view, Figure 21 (b) is a top view, Figure 21 (c) is a right view, Figure 21 (d) is Figure on the left.

detailed description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the virtual image display device and the head-mounted display of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

first embodiment

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a head-mounted display equipped with a virtual image display device according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the head-mounted display shown in FIG. 1 , and FIG. Figure 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating the structure of the image generation unit shown in Figure 2, and Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the drive signal of the drive signal generation unit shown in Figure 4. Figure 6 is a top view of the optical scanning section shown in Figure 4, Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view (section along the X1 axis) of the optical scanning section shown in Figure 6, and Figure 8 shows the optical scanning section shown in Figure 3. Figure 8(a) is a front view, Figure 8(b) is a top view, Figure 8(c) is a right view, Figure 8(d) is a left side view, and Figure 9 is used to explain FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the path of video light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 8 , and FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the path of video light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 8 . And, Fig. 21 is a figure showing another example of the optical element shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 21 (a) is a front view, Fig. 21 (b) is a top view, Fig. 21 (c) is a right view, Fig. 21 (d) ) is the graph on the left.

In addition, in FIGS. 1 to 3 , FIG. 8 , and FIG. 9 , for convenience of description, the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are illustrated as three mutually orthogonal axes, and the tips of the arrows in the illustrations are The side was set to "+ (positive)", and the proximal side was set to "- (negative)". In addition, the direction parallel to the X axis is referred to as "X axis direction", the direction parallel to the Y axis is referred to as "Y axis direction", and the direction parallel to the Z axis is referred to as "Z axis direction".

Here, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are set so that when the virtual image display device 1 is mounted on the head H of the observer, the X-axis direction becomes the left-right direction of the head H, and the Y-axis direction becomes the vertical direction of the head H. direction, the Z-axis direction becomes the front-rear direction of the head H.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a head-mounted display (head-mounted virtual image display device) 10 including a virtual image display device 1 according to this embodiment has an appearance like glasses and is used by being attached to the head H of an observer. , so that the observer recognizes the image of the virtual image in a state where the image of the virtual image is superimposed on the external image.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a head-mounted display 10 includes a virtual image display device 1 and a frame 2 .

In this head-mounted display 10, the image generating unit 3 forms video light modulated based on a video signal, the magnifying optical system 4 amplifies the beam width (cross-sectional area) of the video light, and the reflecting unit 6 amplifies the beam width (cross-sectional area) of the video light amplified by the magnifying optical system 4. The image light is directed toward the observer's eye EY. This enables the observer to recognize a virtual image corresponding to the video signal.

In addition, the head-mounted display 10 is arranged such that the image generation unit 3, the magnification optical system 4, and the reflection unit 6 included in the virtual image display device 1 are respectively provided on the right side and the left side of the frame 2, and are symmetrical with respect to the YZ plane. (bilateral symmetry). The image generation part 3, the magnification optical system 4, and the reflection part 6 provided on the right side of the frame 2 form a virtual image for the right eye, and the image generation part 3, the magnification optical system 4 and the reflection part provided on the left side of the frame 2 6 Forms a virtual image for the left eye.

In addition, in this embodiment, the head-mounted display 10 is provided with the image generating unit 3, the magnifying optical system 4, and the reflecting unit 6 on the right side and the left side of the frame 2, respectively, to form a virtual image for the right eye and a virtual image for the left eye. The structure of the virtual image is not limited thereto. For example, the image generating unit 3, the magnifying optical system 4, and the reflecting unit 6 may be provided only on the left side of the frame 2 to form a virtual image for the left eye only. Also, for example, the image generating unit 3 , the magnifying optical system 4 , and the reflection unit 6 may be provided only on the right side of the frame 2 to form only a virtual image for the right eye. That is, the head-mounted display of the present invention is not limited to the binocular type head-mounted display 10 as in this embodiment, and may be a monocular type head-mounted display.

Hereinafter, each part of the head-mounted display 10 will be described in detail sequentially.

In addition, the two image generation parts 3, the two magnification optical systems 4, and the two reflection parts 6 have the same structure respectively, so that the image generation part 3, the magnification optical system 4, and The reflection section 6 will be described as a center.

frame

As shown in FIG. 2 , the frame 2 is formed in the shape of an eyeglass frame, and has a function of supporting the image generation unit 3 , the magnification optical system 4 , and the reflection unit 6 included in the virtual image display device 1 .

The frame 2 has a front part 21 and temples 22 protruding from the left and right ends of the front part 21 in the Z-axis direction. The front part 21 has a frame 211 and a shade part 212 .

The shade portion 212 has a function of suppressing the transmission of external light, and is a member that supports the reflection portion 6 . The shade portion 212 has a concave portion 27 opened toward the viewer on its inner side, and the reflecting portion 6 is provided in the concave portion 27 . Furthermore, the shade portion 212 supporting the reflecting portion 6 is supported by the frame 211 .

Furthermore, a nose pad 23 is provided at the center of the pudendum 212 . The nose pad 23 contacts the nose NS of the observer when the observer attaches the head-mounted display 10 to the head H, and supports the head-mounted display 10 on the head H of the observer.

The temples 22 are straight temples without angles for hooking on the observer's ears EA. When the observer mounts the head-mounted display 10 on the head H, a part of the temples 22 is formed to be in contact with the observer. Ear EA abutment. Furthermore, the image generator 3 and the magnification optical system 4 are accommodated inside the temple 22 .

Furthermore, there are no particular limitations on the constituent material of the temple 22, and for example, various resin materials, composite materials in which fibers such as carbon fibers or glass fibers are mixed in resin, metal materials such as aluminum or magnesium, and the like can be used.

In addition, as long as the shape of the frame 2 is a shape which can be attached to the observer's head H, it is not limited to the structure shown in figure.

virtual image display device

As described above, the virtual image display device 1 has the image generation unit 3 , the magnification optical system 4 , and the reflection unit 6 .

Hereinafter, each part of the virtual image display device 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail.

Image Generation Department

As shown in FIG. 2 , the image generator 3 is incorporated in the temple 22 of the above-mentioned frame 2 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the image generation unit 3 includes a video light generation unit 31 , a drive signal generation unit 32 , a control unit 33 , a lens 34 , and a light scanning unit 35 .

Such an image generator 3 has a function of generating video light modulated based on a video signal, and a function of generating a drive signal for driving the light scanning unit 35 .

Hereinafter, each unit of the image generation unit 3 will be described in detail.

Image Light Generation Department

The image light generating unit 31 generates image light L1 scanned (optical scanned) by the optical scanning unit 35 (optical scanner).

The image light generation unit 31 has a light source unit 311 including a plurality of light sources (light source units) 311R, 311G, and 311B having different wavelengths, a plurality of driving circuits 312R, 312G, and 312B, and a light synthesis unit (synthesis unit) 313 .

The light source 311R (R light source) included in the light source unit 311 emits red light, the light source 311G (G light source) emits green light, and the light source 311B emits blue light. By using such three-color lights, a full-color image can be displayed.

The light sources 311R, 311G, and 311B are not particularly limited, and for example, laser diodes, LEDs, and the like can be used.

Such light sources 311R, 311G, and 311B are electrically connected to drive circuits 312R, 312G, and 312B, respectively.

The drive circuit 312R has a function of driving the above-mentioned light source 311R, the drive circuit 312G has a function of driving the above-mentioned light source 311G, and the drive circuit 312B has a function of driving the above-mentioned light source 311B.

Three (three-color) lights (video lights) emitted from the light sources 311R, 311G, and 311B driven by the driving circuits 312R, 312G, and 312B enter the light combining unit 313 .

The light combining unit 313 combines the lights from the plurality of light sources 311R, 311G, and 311B.

In this embodiment, the light combining unit 313 has two dichroic mirrors 313a and 313b.

The dichroic mirror 313a has a function of transmitting red light and reflecting green light. Furthermore, the dichroic mirror 313b has a function of transmitting red light and green light and reflecting blue light.

By using such dichroic mirrors 313a and 313b, the three-color lights of red light, green light, and blue light from the light sources 311R, 311G, and 311B are combined to form one image light L1.

Here, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned light source unit 311 is arranged such that the optical path lengths of the red light, green light, and blue light from the light sources 311R, 311G, and 311B are equal to each other.

In addition, the light combining part 313 is not limited to the structure using the above-mentioned dichroic mirror, For example, it may be comprised by a prism, an optical waveguide, an optical fiber, etc.

In the video light generation unit 31 having the above configuration, three-color video lights are generated from the light source unit 311 , and such video lights are synthesized in the light combining unit 313 to generate one video light L1 . Furthermore, the video light L1 generated by the video light generating unit 31 goes toward the lens 34 .

In addition, for example, a light detection mechanism (not shown) for detecting the intensity of the image light L1 generated by the light sources 311R, 311G, and 311B may be provided in the above-mentioned image light generation unit 31 . By providing such a light detection mechanism, it is possible to adjust the intensity of the image light L1 according to the detection result.

lens

The video light L1 generated by the video light generating unit 31 enters the lens 34 .

The lens 34 has a function of controlling the radiation angle of the image light L1. This lens 34 is, for example, a collimating lens. The collimator lens is a lens that adjusts (modulates) light into a parallel beam.

In such a lens 34 , the video light L1 emitted from the video light generation unit 31 is transmitted to the light scanning unit 35 in a parallelized state.

Drive Signal Generator

The drive signal generator 32 generates a drive signal for driving the optical scanner 35 (optical scanner).

This driving signal generating section 32 has: a driving circuit 321 (first driving circuit) that generates a first driving signal for scanning (horizontal scanning) in the first direction of the optical scanning section 35; The driving circuit 322 (second driving circuit) of the second driving signal for scanning in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction (vertical scanning).

For example, the driving circuit 321 is a circuit that generates the first driving signal V1 (horizontal scanning voltage) that changes periodically with a cycle T1 as shown in FIG. A circuit is shown in which the second drive signal V2 (voltage for vertical scanning) changes periodically at a period T2 different from the period T1.

In addition, the first drive signal and the second drive signal will be described in detail later together with the description of the light scanning unit 35 described later.

Such a driving signal generation unit 32 is electrically connected to the light scanning unit 35 via a signal line not shown. Accordingly, the drive signals (the first drive signal and the second drive signal) generated by the drive signal generation unit 32 are input to the light scanning unit 35 .

control department

The above-described drive circuits 312R, 312G, and 312B of the image light generation unit 31 and the drive circuits 321 and 322 of the drive signal generation unit 32 are electrically connected to the control unit 33 . The control unit 33 has a function of controlling driving of the drive circuits 312R, 312G, and 312B of the video light generation unit 31 and the drive circuits 321 and 322 of the drive signal generation unit 32 based on video signals (image information).

Based on an instruction from the control unit 33 , the video light generating unit 31 generates video light L1 modulated according to image information, and the driving signal generating unit 32 generates a driving signal corresponding to the image information.

Light Scanning Department

The video light L1 emitted from the video light generation unit 31 enters the light scanning unit 35 via the lens 34 .

The optical scanning unit 35 is an optical scanner that two-dimensionally scans the image light L1 from the image light generating unit 31 . Scanning light (image light) L2 is formed by scanning image light L1 with this light scanning unit 35 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the optical scanning unit 35 includes a movable mirror unit 11, a pair of shaft parts 12a, 12b (first shaft parts), a frame part 13, and two pairs of shaft parts 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d ( second shaft), a support 15 , a permanent magnet 16 and a coil 17 . In other words, the optical scanning unit 35 has a so-called gimbal structure.

Here, the movable mirror portion 11 and the pair of shaft portions 12a, 12b constitute a first vibration system that oscillates (reciprocates) around the Y1 axis (first axis). And, the movable mirror portion 11, the pair of shaft portions 12a, 12b, the frame portion 13, the two pairs of shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, and the permanent magnet 16 are configured to swing (reciprocate) around the X1 axis (second axis). ) of the second vibration system.

And the optical scanning part 35 has the signal superimposing part 18 (referring to Fig. 7), and the permanent magnet 16, the coil 17, the signal superimposing part 18 and the driving signal generating part 32 constitute the above-mentioned first vibrating system and the second vibrating system to drive (that is, , to make the movable mirror portion 11 swing around the X1 axis and the Y1 axis) driving portion.

Hereinafter, each unit of the light scanning unit 35 will be described in detail sequentially.

The movable mirror part 11 has a base part 111 (movable part), and a light reflection plate 113 fixed to the base part 111 via a spacer 112 .

A light reflective portion 114 having light reflectivity is provided on the upper surface (one surface) of the light reflective plate 113 .

This light reflection plate 113 is separated in the thickness direction with respect to the shaft parts 12a and 12b, and overlaps with the shaft parts 12a and 12b when viewed from the thickness direction (hereinafter, also referred to as "plan view").

Therefore, the distance between the shaft portion 12a and the shaft portion 12b can be shortened, and the area of the plate surface of the light reflection plate 113 can be increased. In addition, since the distance between the shaft portion 12a and the shaft portion 12b can be shortened, the size of the frame body portion 13 can be reduced. Moreover, since the frame body part 13 can be downsized, the distance between the shaft part 14a, 14b and the shaft part 14c, 14d can be shortened.

According to such a situation, even if the area of the plate surface of the light reflection plate 113 is increased, it is possible to reduce the size of the light scanning unit 35 . In other words, the size of the area of the light scanning unit 35 relative to the light reflection unit 114 can be reduced.

Moreover, the light reflection plate 113 is formed so that the whole shaft part 12a, 12b may be covered in planar view. In other words, the shaft portions 12a and 12b are respectively located inside with respect to the outer periphery of the light reflection plate 113 in plan view. Thereby, the area of the plate surface of the light reflection plate 113 becomes large, and as a result, the area of the light reflection part 114 can be enlarged. In addition, unnecessary light can be prevented from being reflected by the shaft portions 12a and 12b and becoming stray light.

In addition, the light reflection plate 113 is formed to cover the entire frame body portion 13 in plan view. In other words, the frame body portion 13 is located inside the outer periphery of the light reflection plate 113 in plan view. Thereby, the area of the plate surface of the light reflection plate 113 becomes large, and as a result, the area of the light reflection part 114 can be enlarged. In addition, it is possible to prevent unnecessary light from being reflected by the frame portion 13 and becoming stray light.

Moreover, the light reflection plate 113 is formed so that the whole shaft part 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d may be covered in planar view. In other words, the shaft portions 14 a , 14 b , 14 c , and 14 d are respectively located inside with respect to the outer periphery of the light reflection plate 113 in plan view. Thereby, the area of the plate surface of the light reflection plate 113 becomes large, and as a result, the area of the light reflection part 114 can be enlarged. In addition, unnecessary light can be prevented from being reflected by the shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d to become stray light.

In the present embodiment, the light reflection plate 113 is formed in a circular shape in plan view. In addition, the planar view shape of the light reflection plate 113 is not limited to this, For example, polygonal shapes, such as an ellipse and a quadrangle, may be sufficient.

A hard layer 115 is provided on the lower surface (the other surface) of such a light reflection plate 113 as shown in FIG. 7 .

The hard layer 115 is made of a material harder than the constituent material of the main body of the light reflection plate 113 . Thereby, the rigidity of the light reflection plate 113 can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to prevent or suppress deflection of the light reflection plate 113 when swinging. In addition, the moment of inertia when the light reflection plate 113 swings around the X1 axis and the Y1 axis can be suppressed by reducing the thickness of the light reflection plate 113 .

The constituent material of such a hard layer 115 is not particularly limited as long as it is harder than the constituent material of the main body of the light reflection plate 113. For example, diamond, carbon nitride film, crystal, sapphire, lithium tantalate, niobium, etc. can be used. Potassium acid and the like, but diamond is particularly preferably used.

The thickness (average) of the hard layer 115 is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 1 to 10 μm, and more preferably about 1 to 5 μm.

Furthermore, the hard layer 115 may be composed of a single layer, or may be composed of a laminated body of a plurality of layers. In addition, the hard layer 115 is provided as needed and can also be omitted.

For the formation of such a hard layer 115, for example, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) such as plasma CVD, thermal CVD, and laser CVD, dry gold plating such as vacuum deposition, sputtering, and ion plating, electroplating, immersion plating, etc., can be used. Plating, electroless plating and other wet gold plating methods, thermal spraying, joining of chip parts, etc.

In addition, the lower surface of the light reflection plate 113 is fixed to the base 111 via the spacer 112 . Thereby, contact with the shaft parts 12a and 12b, the frame body part 13, and the shaft parts 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d can be prevented, and the light reflection plate 113 can be swung around the Y1 axis.

In addition, the bases 111 are located inside the outer circumference of the light reflection plate 113 in a plan view. That is, the area of the surface (plate surface) of the light reflection plate 113 on which the light reflection portion 114 is provided is larger than the area of the surface of the base portion 111 on which the spacer 112 is fixed. Furthermore, the area of the base 111 in plan view is preferably as small as possible when the base 111 can support the light reflection plate 113 via the spacer 112 . Thereby, the area of the plate surface of the light reflection plate 113 can be enlarged, and the distance between the shaft part 12a and the shaft part 12b can be made small.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the frame body portion 13 is formed in a frame shape and provided so as to surround the base portion 111 of the above-mentioned movable mirror portion 11 . In other words, the base portion 111 of the movable mirror portion 11 is provided inside the frame body portion 13 formed in a frame shape.

And the frame body part 13 is supported by the support part 15 via the shaft part 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d. Furthermore, the base portion 111 of the movable mirror portion 11 is supported by the frame body portion 13 via the shaft portions 12a, 12b.

In addition, the length of the frame body 13 in the direction along the Y1 axis is longer than the length in the direction along the X1 axis. That is, when the length of the frame portion 13 in the direction along the Y1 axis is a and the length of the frame portion 13 in the direction along the X1 axis is b, the relationship of a>b is satisfied. Thereby, the length required for the shaft part 12a, 12b can be ensured, and the length of the optical scanning part 35 in the direction along the X1 axis can be suppressed.

In addition, the frame body portion 13 is formed in a shape following the outer shape of a structure composed of the base portion 111 of the movable mirror portion 11 and the pair of shaft portions 12 a and 12 b in plan view. Thus, the vibration of the first vibration system composed of the movable mirror part 11 and the pair of shaft parts 12a, 12b is allowed, that is, the swing of the movable mirror part 11 around the Y1 axis is allowed, and the frame part 13 can be realized. miniaturization.

In addition, if the shape of the frame body part 13 is a frame shape surrounding the base part 111 of the movable mirror part 11, it is not limited to the shape shown in figure.

The shaft portions 12 a and 12 b connect the movable mirror portion 11 and the frame portion 13 so that the movable mirror portion 11 can rotate (swing) around the Y1 axis (first axis). Shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d connect frame body 13 and support portion 15 so that frame body 13 can rotate (swing) around X1 axis (second axis) perpendicular to Y1 axis.

The shaft portions 12 a and 12 b are arranged to face each other via the base portion 111 of the movable mirror portion 11 . And the shaft parts 12a, 12b are each formed in the elongate shape extended in the direction along the Y1 axis. And the shaft parts 12a and 12b are each formed so that one end part may be connected to the base part 111, and the other end part may be connected to the frame part 13. As shown in FIG. And the shaft parts 12a and 12b are respectively arrange|positioned so that a central axis may coincide with the Y1 axis.

Such shaft portions 12 a and 12 b are twisted and deformed in accordance with the swing of the movable mirror portion 11 around the Y1 axis.

The shaft parts 14 a and 14 b and the shaft parts 14 c and 14 d are arranged to face each other with the frame body part 13 interposed therebetween. And the shaft parts 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d are each formed in the elongate shape extended in the direction along the X1 axis. And the shaft parts 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d are each formed so that one end part may be connected to the frame part 13, and the other end part may be connected to the support part 15. As shown in FIG. And the shaft parts 14a, 14b are arrange|positioned so that they may oppose each other across the X1 axis, and similarly, the shaft parts 14c, 14d will be arrange|positioned so that they may oppose each other across the X1 axis.

In such shaft portions 14 a , 14 b , 14 c , and 14 d , the entire shaft portions 14 a , 14 b and the entire shaft portions 14 c , 14 d are torsionally deformed as the frame body portion 13 swings around the X1 axis.

In this way, the movable mirror portion 11 can be swung around the Y1 axis, and the frame body portion 13 can be swung around the X1 axis, so that the movable mirror portion 11 can be swung around two axes, the X1 axis and the Y1 axis, which are perpendicular to each other. Swing (reciprocating rotation).

And, at least one of such shaft parts 12a, 12b and at least one of shaft parts 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d are respectively provided with an angle detection sensor such as a strain sensor, but this has not been done. icon. This angle detection sensor can detect angle information of the light scanning unit 35 , more specifically, each swing angle of the light reflection unit 114 around the X1 axis and around the Y1 axis. The detection result is input to the control unit 33 via a cable not shown.

In addition, the shapes of the shaft portions 12a, 12b and the shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d are not limited to the above-mentioned shapes, and for example, may have bent or curved portions or branched portions at at least one midway position.

The above-mentioned base portion 111, shaft portions 12a, 12b, frame body portion 13, shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, and support portion 15 are integrally formed.

In this embodiment, the base portion 111, the shaft portions 12a, 12b, the frame portion 13, the shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, and the support portion 15 are sequentially laminated with the first Si layer (device layer), _SiO2 layer (box layer) and the SOI substrate of the second Si layer (handling layer) are formed by etching. Thereby, the vibration characteristics of the first vibration system and the second vibration system can be made excellent. In addition, since the SOI substrate can be subjected to fine processing by etching, the base portion 111, the shaft portions 12a, 12b, the frame portion 13, the shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d, and the support portion 15 are formed using the SOI substrate. These are excellent in dimensional accuracy, and can realize miniaturization of the optical scanning unit 35 .

Furthermore, the base portion 111, the shaft portions 12a, 12b, and the shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d are each composed of the first Si layer of the SOI substrate. Thereby, the elasticity of shaft part 12a, 12b and shaft part 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d can be made excellent. Also, the base portion 111 can be prevented from coming into contact with the frame portion 13 when it is rotated around the Y1 axis.

Furthermore, the frame body portion 13 and the support portion 15 are each composed of a laminated body composed of a first Si layer, an SiO ₂ layer, and a second Si layer of an SOI substrate. Thereby, the rigidity of the frame body part 13 and the support part 15 can be made excellent. Furthermore, the SiO ₂ layer and the second Si layer of the frame portion 13 not only function as ribs for increasing the rigidity of the frame portion 13 but also function to prevent the movable mirror portion 11 from contacting the permanent magnet 16 .

Furthermore, it is preferable to perform anti-reflection treatment on the upper surface of the support portion 15 . Thereby, it is possible to prevent unnecessary light irradiated on the support portion 15 from becoming stray light.

Such antireflection treatment is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include formation of an antireflection film (dielectric multilayer film), roughening treatment, and blackening treatment.

In addition, the above-mentioned constituent materials and forming methods of base portion 111, shaft portions 12a, 12b, and shaft portions 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d are examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the spacer 112 and the light reflection plate 113 are also formed by etching the SOI substrate. Furthermore, the spacer 112 is composed of a laminated body composed of the SiO ₂ layer and the second Si layer of the SOI substrate. In addition, the light reflection plate 113 is composed of the first Si layer of the SOI substrate.

Thus, by forming the spacer 112 and the light reflection plate 113 using the SOI substrate, the spacer 112 and the light reflection plate 113 bonded to each other can be manufactured easily and with high precision.

Such a spacer 112 is bonded to the base 111 with, for example, a bonding material (not shown) such as an adhesive or solder.

The permanent magnet 16 is bonded to the lower surface (the surface on the opposite side to the light reflection plate 113 ) of the frame portion 13 described above.

The method of joining the permanent magnet 16 and the frame body 13 is not particularly limited, and for example, a joining method using an adhesive can be used.

The permanent magnet 16 is magnetized in a direction inclined with respect to the X1 axis and the Y1 axis in plan view.

In the present embodiment, the permanent magnets 16 are formed in a long shape (rod shape), and are arranged in a direction inclined with respect to the X1 axis and the Y1 axis. Also, the permanent magnet 16 is magnetized in its longitudinal direction. That is, the permanent magnet 16 is magnetized such that one end is an S pole and the other end is an N pole.

In addition, the permanent magnet 16 is symmetrical about the intersection point of the X1 axis and the Y1 axis in plan view.

In addition, in this embodiment, the case where the number of one permanent magnet is provided in the frame part 13 is demonstrated as an example, However, it is not limited to this, For example, two permanent magnets may be provided in the frame part 13. In this case, for example, two elongated permanent magnets may be provided in the frame body 13 so as to face each other across the base 111 in plan view and to be parallel to each other.

The inclination angle θ of the magnetization direction (extending direction) of the permanent magnet 16 with respect to the X1 axis is not particularly limited, but is preferably 30° to 60°, more preferably 45° to 60°, and still more preferably 45°. By providing the permanent magnet 16 in this way, the movable mirror portion 11 can be smoothly and reliably rotated around the X1 axis.

As such a permanent magnet 16 , for example, a neodymium magnet, a ferrite magnet, a samarium cobalt magnet, an alnico magnet, a bonded magnet, or the like can be suitably used. Such a permanent magnet 16 is formed by magnetizing a hard magnetic body, and is formed, for example, by placing a hard magnetic body before magnetization on the frame portion 13 and then magnetizing it. If it is desired to install the magnetized permanent magnet 16 on the frame body 13, the permanent magnet 16 may not be installed at a desired position due to the influence of the magnetic field of the outside or other components.

A coil 17 is provided directly under such a permanent magnet 16 . That is, the coil 17 is provided so as to face the lower surface of the frame body portion 13 . Thereby, the magnetic field generated from the coil 17 can be efficiently acted on the permanent magnet 16 . Accordingly, power saving and downsizing of the optical scanning unit 35 can be achieved.

Such a coil 17 is electrically connected to a signal superimposing unit 18 (see FIG. 7 ).

Then, by applying a voltage to the coil 17 from the signal superimposing unit 18 , a magnetic field having a magnetic flux perpendicular to the X1 axis and the Y1 axis is generated from the coil 17 .

The signal superposition unit 18 has an adder (not shown) that superimposes the first drive signal V1 and the second drive signal V2 described above, and applies the superimposed voltage to the coil 17 .

Here, the first driving signal V1 and the second driving signal V2 are described in detail.

As described above, as shown in FIG. 5( a ), the driving circuit 321 generates the first driving signal V1 (horizontal scanning voltage) that changes periodically at the period T1 . That is, the driving circuit 321 generates the first driving signal V1 of the first frequency (1/T1).

The first drive signal V1 has a waveform like a sine wave. Therefore, the light scanning unit 35 can efficiently perform main scanning of light. In addition, the waveform of the first driving signal V1 is not limited thereto.

In addition, the first frequency (1/T1) is not particularly limited as long as it is a frequency suitable for horizontal scanning, but is preferably 10 to 40 kHz.

In this embodiment, the first frequency is set to be equal to the torsional resonance frequency (f1) of the first vibration system (torsion vibration system) constituted by the movable mirror portion 11 and the pair of shaft portions 12a, 12b. That is, the first vibration system is designed (manufactured) such that the torsional resonance frequency f1 becomes a frequency suitable for horizontal scanning. Accordingly, the rotation angle of the movable mirror portion 11 around the Y1 axis can be increased.

On the other hand, as described above, as shown in FIG. 5( b ), the driving circuit 322 generates the second driving signal V2 (voltage for vertical scanning) that changes periodically at the period T2 different from the period T1 . That is, the driving circuit 322 generates the second driving signal V2 with the second frequency (1/T2).

The second drive signal V2 has a waveform like a sawtooth wave. Therefore, the light scanning unit 35 can efficiently vertically scan light (sub-scan). In addition, the waveform of the second driving signal V2 is not limited thereto.

The second frequency (1/T2) is not particularly limited as long as it is different from the first frequency (1/T1) and suitable for vertical scanning, but is preferably 30 to 80 Hz (about 60 Hz). In this way, by setting the frequency of the second drive signal V2 to about 60 Hz and setting the frequency of the first drive signal V1 to 10 to 40 kHz as described above, the movable The mirror unit 11 rotates about two mutually orthogonal axes (X1 axis and Y1 axis). However, the combination of the frequency of the first drive signal V1 and the frequency of the second drive signal V2 is not particularly limited as long as the movable mirror portion 11 can be rotated around the X1 axis and the Y1 axis respectively.

In the present embodiment, the frequency of the second drive signal V2 is adjusted to be consistent with the frequency of the movable mirror part 11, the pair of shaft parts 12a, 12b, the frame part 13, the two pairs of shaft parts 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, and the permanent mirror part 11. The torsional resonance frequency (resonance frequency) of the second vibration system (torsional vibration system) constituted by the magnet 16 is different in frequency.

The frequency (second frequency) of such a second drive signal V2 is preferably smaller than the frequency (first frequency) of the first drive signal V1. That is, the period T2 is preferably longer than the period T1. Accordingly, the movable mirror portion 11 can be rotated around the Y1 axis at the first frequency and rotated around the X1 axis at the second frequency more reliably and smoothly.

And, when the torsional resonance frequency of the first vibration system is set to f1 [Hz], and the torsional resonance frequency of the second vibration system is set to f2 [Hz], f1 and f2 preferably satisfy the relationship of f2<f1, more preferably Satisfy the relationship of f1≥10f2. Accordingly, the movable mirror portion 11 can be rotated around the Y1 axis at the frequency of the first drive signal V1 and around the X1 axis at the frequency of the second drive signal V2 more smoothly. On the other hand, in the case of f1≦f2, there is a possibility that the first vibration system may vibrate due to the second frequency.

Next, a method of driving the optical scanning unit 35 will be described. In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the frequency of the first drive signal V1 is set to be equal to the torsional resonance frequency of the first vibration system, and the frequency of the second drive signal V2 is set to be equal to the torsional resonance frequency of the second vibration system. The resonant frequency is different and set to be lower than the frequency of the first drive signal V1 (for example, the frequency of the first drive signal V1 is set to 18 kHz, and the frequency of the second drive signal V2 is set to 60 Hz).

For example, the first drive signal V1 shown in FIG. 5(a) and the second drive signal V2 shown in FIG.

In this way, the magnetic field that intends to draw one end (N pole) of the permanent magnet 16 closer to the coil 17 and to make the other end (S pole) of the permanent magnet 16 away from the coil 17 is alternately switched by the first drive signal V1 (the The magnetic field is referred to as "magnetic field A1"), and the magnetic field intended to keep one end (N pole) of the permanent magnet 16 away from the coil 17 and to draw the other end (S pole) of the permanent magnet 16 closer to the coil 17 (this magnetic field is called as "magnetic field A2").

Here, as described above, the permanent magnet 16 is arranged such that each end (magnetic pole) is located in two regions divided by the Y1 axis. That is, in the plan view of FIG. 6 , the N pole of the permanent magnet 16 exists on one side and the S pole of the permanent magnet 16 exists on the other side across the Y1 axis. Therefore, by alternately switching the magnetic field A1 and the magnetic field A2, vibration having a torsional vibration component around the Y1 axis is excited in the frame portion 13, and the shaft portions 12a, 12b are torsionally deformed along with the vibration, and the movable mirror portion 11 rotates around the Y1 axis at the frequency of the first driving signal V1.

Moreover, the frequency of the first driving signal V1 is equal to the torsional resonance frequency of the first vibration system. Therefore, the movable mirror portion 11 can be effectively rotated around the Y1 axis by the first drive signal V1. That is, even if the above-mentioned vibration of the frame portion 13 having a torsional vibration component around the Y1 axis is small, the rotation angle of the movable mirror portion 11 around the Y1 axis due to the vibration can be increased.

On the other hand, the magnetic field that intends to draw one end (N pole) of the permanent magnet 16 closer to the coil 17 and to make the other end (S pole) of the permanent magnet 16 away from the coil 17 is alternately switched by the second drive signal V2 ( This magnetic field is referred to as "magnetic field B1"), and a magnetic field intended to keep one end (N pole) of the permanent magnet 16 away from the coil 17 and to draw the other end (S pole) of the permanent magnet 16 closer to the coil 17 (the The magnetic field is referred to as "magnetic field B2").

Here, as described above, the permanent magnet 16 is arranged such that each end (magnetic pole) is located in two regions divided by the X1 axis. That is, in the plan view of FIG. 6 , the N pole of the permanent magnet 16 exists on one side and the S pole of the permanent magnet 16 exists on the other side across the X1 axis. Therefore, by alternately switching the magnetic field B1 and the magnetic field B2, the shaft portions 14a, 14b and the shaft portions 14c, 14d are respectively twisted and deformed, and the frame body portion 13 and the movable mirror portion 11 rotate together at the frequency of the second drive signal V2. The X1 axis rotates.

Also, the frequency of the second drive signal V2 is set to be extremely lower than the frequency of the first drive signal V1. Also, the torsional resonance frequency of the second vibration system is set lower than the torsional resonance frequency of the first vibration system. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the movable mirror portion 11 from rotating around the Y1 axis at the frequency of the second drive signal V2.

According to the light scanning section 35 described above, since the movable mirror section 11 having the light reflective light reflection section 114 is swung around two axes perpendicular to each other, the miniaturization of the light scanning section 35 and lightweight. As a result, it is possible to provide the virtual image display device 1 with more excellent usability for the observer.

In particular, since the light scanning unit 35 has a gimbal structure, the structure (the light scanning unit 35 ) that scans image light two-dimensionally can be made smaller.

Magnification Optical System 4

As shown in FIG. 3 , the scanning light (image light) L2 scanned by the above-mentioned light scanning unit 35 is transmitted to the enlarging optical system 4 .

The enlarging optical system 4 has a function of enlarging the beam width of the image light L2 scanned by the light scanning unit 35 , that is, enlarging the cross-sectional area of the image light L2 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the magnifying optical system 4 includes an optical element 5 , a correction lens 42 , and a light shielding plate 43 .

Hereinafter, each part of such an enlarging optical system 4 will be described in detail sequentially.

Optics 5

As shown in FIG. 3 , the optical element 5 is provided near the optical scanning unit 35 , has light transmittance (light transmission), and is formed in an elongated shape along the Z-axis direction.

The image light L2 scanned by the above-mentioned light scanning unit 35 enters the optical element 5 .

The optical element 5 amplifies the beam width (cross-sectional area) of the image light L2 scanned by the optical scanning unit 35 . Specifically, the optical element 5 propagates the image light L2 scanned by the optical scanning unit 35 in the Z direction while multiple reflections inside the optical element 5, thereby enlarging the beam width of the image light L2, and emitting the same image light L2. Image light L3 and L4 having a larger beam width than L2.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the optical element 5 has an incident surface 56 and an output surface 57 at one end in the longitudinal direction (Z-axis direction), and these (incident surface 56 and output surface 57 ) face each other. Further, the optical element 5 has side surfaces 58a, 58b facing in the thickness direction (X-axis direction) and side surfaces 59a, 59b facing in the width direction (Y-axis direction).

Furthermore, the incident surface 56 is set to face the light scanning unit 35 , and the output surface 57 is set to face the side of the correction lens 42 and the light shielding plate 43 (see FIG. 3 ).

The incident surface 56 is a surface having light transmittance, and is a surface on which the image light L2 scanned by the light scanning unit 35 enters. On the other hand, the output surface 57 is a surface having light transparency, and is a surface from which the video light L2 incident from the incident surface 56 is emitted as the video lights L3 and L4.

In addition, the side surfaces 58 a and 58 b are total reflection surfaces, respectively, and totally reflect the image light L2 incident into the optical element 5 . Here, the total reflection surface includes not only a surface having a light transmittance of 0%, but also a surface slightly transmitting light, for example, a surface having a light transmittance of less than 3%.

Furthermore, the side surface 59a and the side surface 59b may be surfaces of any light transmittance, for example, may be a total reflection surface or a semi-reflection surface, but they are particularly preferably surfaces with a relatively low light transmittance. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the light inside the optical element 5 from becoming stray light. Furthermore, as a method of preventing the light in the optical element 5 from becoming stray light, for example, a method of roughening the side surfaces 59 a and 59 b may be mentioned.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8 , the incident surface 56 is parallel to the outgoing surface 57 . And, the side surface 58a is parallel to the side surface 58b. And, the side surface 59a is parallel to the side surface 59b. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the overall shape of the optical element 5 is a cube.

In addition, the above-mentioned "parallel" includes, for example, the case where the angle formed by each surface is about ±2°, in addition to being completely parallel.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the incident surface 56 and the emission surface 57 are parallel, but the incident surface 56 and the emission surface 57 may not be parallel, and the absolute value of the inclination angle should just be the same. "The absolute values of the inclination angles of the incident surface 56 and the exit surface 57 are the same" include, for example, that the incident surface 56 is inclined at an acute angle α (for example, +20°) relative to the XY plane in the +Z axis direction, and the exit surface 57 is inclined at the -Z axis. A state in which the direction is inclined at an acute angle α (for example, -20°) with respect to the XY plane. That is, it includes a "H" shape formed by the incident surface 56 and the outgoing surface 57 as shown in FIG. 21 (drawing). In addition, the above-mentioned "the absolute values of the inclination angles are the same" includes, for example, a case where the absolute values of the inclination angles differ by about 2° in addition to the absolute values of the inclination angles being completely the same.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the side surface 59a and the side surface 59b are parallel, but the incident surface 56 and the emission surface 57 may not be parallel, and the inclination angle may differ.

In addition, the thickness (length in the X-axis direction) of the optical element 5 is, for example, preferably from 0.1 mm to 100 mm, more preferably from 0.3 mm to 50 mm. Accordingly, the size of the optical element 5 can be reduced, and the video light L3 emitted from the emission surface 57 can be greatly enlarged.

The length (the length in the Z-axis direction) of the optical element 5 is not particularly limited, but is, for example, preferably from 1 mm to 50 mm, and more preferably from 5 mm to 30 mm. Thus, the size of the optical element 5 can be reduced, and the image light L2 can be sufficiently multiple-reflected inside the optical element 5 , thereby further improving the uniformity of the intensity distribution of the image light L3 emitted from the emission surface 57 .

The width (length in the Y-axis direction) of the optical element 5 is, for example, preferably from 0.1 mm to 100 mm, more preferably from 0.3 mm to 50 mm. Accordingly, the size of the optical element 5 can be reduced, and the video light L3 emitted from the emission surface 57 can be greatly enlarged.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the optical element 5 having such a structure has a light guide portion (first light guide portion) 51 for guiding image light L2, a light guide portion (second light guide portion) 52, and a light guide portion (second light guide portion). Three light guides) 53, a half mirror layer (first light branching layer) 54, and a half mirror layer (second light branching layer) 55.

The light guide part 51, the half mirror layer 54, the light guide part 52, the half mirror layer 55, and the light guide part 53 of this optical element 5 are laminated|stacked sequentially along each thickness direction (X-axis direction). That is, the optical element 5 is a one-dimensional array in which light guides 51 , 52 , and 53 are arranged in each thickness direction (first direction) via half mirror layers 54 , 55 .

The light guides 51 , 52 , and 53 are plate-shaped light pipes, and have a function of propagating the image light L2 (image light scanned by the light scanning unit 35 ) incident from the incident surface 56 in the +Z direction. .

In addition, as shown in FIG. 8(a) and FIG. 8(b), the cross-sectional shape (cross-sectional shape of the XY plane) of the light guides 51, 52, and 53 is formed as a rectangle, but the cross-sectional shapes of the light guides 51, 52, and 53 The shape (cross-sectional shape in the XY plane) is not limited thereto, and may be a quadrilateral shape such as a square, other polygonal shapes, or the like.

In addition, the thickness of each light guide part 51, 52, 53 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, it is configured to be smaller than the diameter (beam width diameter) of the image light L2 incident on the incident surface 56 (see FIG. 9 ). . In other words, the width of each light guide portion 51 , 52 , 53 on the incident surface 56 along the alignment direction of each light guide portion 51 , 52 , 53 is larger than the image along the alignment direction of each light guide portion 51 , 52 , 53 . The width of the light L2 on the incident surface 56 is small. As a result, the image light L2 can be made incident across the plurality of light guides (light guides 51, 52, 53 in this embodiment), and the ratio of the image lights L3, L4 emitted from the emission surface 57 can be further improved. Uniformity of intensity distribution. In order to obtain such an effect, the thickness of each of the light guide parts 51 , 52 , and 53 is, for example, preferably from 0.01 mm to 10 mm, more preferably from 0.01 mm to 5 mm.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the thickness of the light guides 51, 52, 53 is configured to be smaller than the diameter of the video light L2 (the diameter of the beam width), but the thicknesses of the light guides 51, 52, 53 may be set to It is larger than the diameter of the image light L2.

In addition, the light guide parts 51 , 52 , and 53 only need to have light transmittance, and are made of, for example, various resin materials such as acrylic resin and polycarbonate resin, various types of glass, and the like.

The half mirror layers 54 and 55 are composed of, for example, a light-transmitting reflective film, that is, a semi-transmissive reflective film. The half mirror layers 54 and 55 have a function of reflecting a part of the image light L2 and transmitting a part thereof. The half mirror layers 54 and 55 are formed of, for example, metal reflective films such as silver (Ag) and aluminum (Al), or semi-transmissive reflective films such as dielectric multilayer films.

The optical element 5 having such a structure can be formed, for example, by surface-activated bonding of the light guide part 51, the light guide part 52, and the light guide part 53 on which thin films that can become the half-mirror layers 54 and 55 are formed on the main surface. get. By manufacturing the optical element 5 by surface-activated bonding, the parallelism of each part (light guide part 51, 52, 53) can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 9 , in the optical element 5 having the above configuration, the image light L2 scanned by the optical scanning unit 35 enters from the incident surface 56, and is multiple-reflected inside the optical element 5 to form an image in a state in which the beam width is enlarged. The lights L3 and L4 are emitted from the emission surface 57 . In this way, the optical path of the image light L2 inside the optical element 5 for enlarging the beam width (cross-sectional area) of the image light L2 by the optical element 5 will be described based on FIGS. 9 and 10 , and will be described in detail below. In addition, in FIG. 10 , only the chief ray of the image light L2 is shown as a representative.

First, as shown in FIG. 10 , the image light L2 scanned by the optical scanning unit 35 enters the optical element 5 from the incident surface 56 . At this time, the image light L2 enters in a state inclined by an angle θ5 with respect to the axis X parallel to the side surface 58 a and the side surface 58 b. If, as shown in FIG. 10( a), the incident image light L2 advances in the light guide portion 52 and reaches the half mirror layer 54, then a part of the image light L2 passes through the half mirror layer 54, and the rest is reflected by the half mirror layer 54. reflection.

The image light L21 transmitted through the half mirror layer 54 advances in the light guide portion 51 and is totally reflected by the side surface 58 a. On the other hand, the image light L22 reflected by the half mirror layer 54 advances in the light guide portion 52 and reaches the half mirror layer 55 . Here, part of the image light L22 that has reached the half mirror layer 55 passes through the half mirror layer 55 as shown in FIG. 10( b ), and the rest is reflected by the half mirror layer 55 . As shown in FIG. 10( b ), the image light L22 transmitted through the half mirror layer 55 is totally reflected by the side surface 58 b.

In this way, the image light L2 guided into the optical element 5 repeats total reflection on the side surfaces 58 a and 58 b , and repeats reflection and transmission on the half mirror layers 54 and 55 . That is, as shown in FIG. 9 , the image light L2 guided into the optical element 5 is multiple-reflected inside the optical element 5 .

Then, as a result of multiple reflections of the video light L2 inside the optical element 5 , the light components repeatedly undergoing multiple reflections overlap, and the video lights L3 and L4 with enlarged beam widths are emitted from the emission surface 57 .

Here, as described above, the incident surface 56 is parallel to the outgoing surface 57 . Therefore, the amount of refraction of the image light L2 incident on the incident surface 56 can be made the same as the amount of refraction of the image light L3 and L4 emitted from the output surface 57 . That is, the angle θ5 at which the image light L2 enters the half mirror layers 54 and 55 can be made the same as the angle θ5 at which the image lights L3 and L4 are emitted from the half mirror layers 54 and 55 . Thereby, it is possible to prevent deformation caused by the trigonometric function of the law of refraction and occurrence of chromatic aberration caused by the wavelength dispersion of the refractive index of the material.

In addition, in this embodiment, the incident surface 56 and the exit surface 57 are parallel to each other, but as described above, if the absolute values of the inclination angles of the incident surface 56 and the exit surface 57 are the same, then the incident angle of the image light L2 is the same as that of the image light L3. The absolute values of the emission angles can be the same. Therefore, if the absolute values of the inclination angles of the incidence surface 56 and the emission surface 57 are the same, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained.

Furthermore, the optical element 5 of the present embodiment is a one-dimensional array (first one-dimensional array) in which the light guides 51 , 52 , and 53 are arranged in the thickness direction (first direction). In this way, with a relatively simple structure in which the light guide portions 51 , 52 , and 53 are laminated via the hard coat layers 54 , 55 , the image light L2 incident from the incident surface 56 can be multiple-reflected in the optical element 5 . Therefore, even without using a position detection mechanism for aligning the image light with the line of sight of the observer or the positions of the observer's left and right eyes EY, it is possible to amplify the beam of the image light L2 with a relatively simple configuration as in this embodiment. width.

And, as shown in FIG. 3 , the optical element 5 is arranged so that, in the state mounted on the head H of the observer, the optical element 5 is disposed from the reflector 6 in a direction (X In the in-plane direction (XZ in-plane direction) parallel to the axis W (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 ), the chief rays of the video light L3 and L4 are emitted. In other words, the optical element 5 is configured to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the image light L3 in the axis W direction. Furthermore, the correction lens 42 and the visor 43 are arranged along the axis W. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the image light L3 emitted from the emission surface 57 is emitted toward the reflector 6 via the correction lens 42 , and the image light L4 emitted from the emission surface 57 is emitted toward the light shielding plate 43 . Thus, by arranging the optical element 5 so as to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the video light L3 in the direction of the axis W, the video light L3 guided to the observer's eyes via the correction lens 42 and the reflector 6 can be directed to the left and right of the eyes. to zoom in. Thereby, visibility can be improved in the left-right direction in which the movement range is large with respect to the up-down direction of eyes.

correction lens

As shown in FIG. 3 , the image light L3 emitted from the optical element 5 enters the correction lens 42 .

The correction lens 42 has a function of correcting the parallelism disturbance of the image light L3 by using the aspheric mirror 61 included in the reflector 6 described later. Thereby, the resolution performance of the image light L3 can be improved. As such a correction lens 42, a toric lens, a cylindrical lens, a free-form surface lens, etc. are mentioned, for example.

visor

The image light L4 emitted from the optical element 5 enters the light shielding plate 43 .

The light-shielding plate 43 is constituted by a light-absorbing member that absorbs light, and is a light-shielding mechanism that blocks light. Accordingly, the image light L4 emitted from the optical element 5 is blocked as unnecessary light.

Such a light shielding plate 43 is formed of, for example, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, or the like.

In addition, in this embodiment, the light-shielding plate 43 is used as the light-shielding means for blocking the image light L4, but the light-shielding means for blocking the image light L4 is not limited thereto, as long as it is a mechanism for preventing the image light L4 from becoming stray light. That's it. For example, instead of using the light shielding plate 43 as the light shielding means, a structure may be employed in which the image light L4 is shielded by coating the peripheral portion of the frame 2 with paint or the like.

The image light L3 whose beam width has been enlarged by the magnifying optical system 4 having the above configuration is incident on the reflection unit 6 via the correction lens 42 as shown in FIG. 3 .

reflector

The reflection part 6 is provided in the shady part 212 of the front part 21, and is arrange|positioned so that it may be located in front of the observer's left eye EY at the time of use. The reflector 6 has a size sufficient to cover the observer's eyes EY, and has a function of making the image light L3 from the optical element 5 enter toward the observer's eyes EY.

The reflection section 6 has an aspheric mirror 61 including a light deflection section 65 .

The aspheric mirror 61 is a light-transmitting member formed of a base material such as a resin material exhibiting high light-transmittance (light-transmittance) in the visible range, and a semi-transparent reflective film formed thereon. That is, the aspheric mirror 61 is a half mirror, and also has a function of transmitting external light (translucency with respect to visible light). Therefore, the reflector 6 including the aspheric mirror 61 has the function of reflecting the image light L3 emitted from the optical element 5 and transmitting external light from the outside of the reflector 6 toward the observer's eye EY during use. Accordingly, the observer can recognize the virtual image (image) formed by the image light L5 while recognizing the external image. That is, a see-through head-mounted display can be realized.

Such an aspheric mirror 61 is formed in a shape curved along the curvature of the front portion 21 of the frame 2, and the concave surface 611 is located on the viewer's side in use. Thereby, the image light L5 reflected by the aspheric mirror 61 can be efficiently focused toward the observer's eyes EY.

Furthermore, the light deflection unit 65 is provided on the concave surface 611 . The light deflection unit 65 has a function of deflecting the image light L3 emitted from the emission surface 57 of the optical element 5 toward the observer's eye EY.

In this embodiment, such a light deflection unit 65 is constituted by a hologram element 651 which is a type of diffraction grating. The hologram element 651 is a semi-transmissive film having a property of diffracting light of a specific wavelength band and transmitting light of other wavelength bands among image light L3 irradiated from the optical element 5 to the hologram element 651 .

By using such a hologram element 651 , it is possible to form a virtual image by adjusting the angle and beam state of the video light guided to the observer's eyes by diffraction for video light of a specific wavelength band. Specifically, the image light L3 reflected by the aspheric mirror 61 is emitted to the outside, passes through the hologram element 651 , and enters the observer's left eye EY as image light L5 . In addition, the same applies to the reflector 6 positioned on the right eye EY side. Then, the image light L5 incident on each of the left and right eyes EY of the observer forms an image on the retina of the observer. Accordingly, the observer can observe a virtual image (image) formed by the image light L3 emitted from the optical element 5 within the field of view area.

According to the virtual image display device 1 described above, by amplifying the video light L1 generated by the image generating unit 3 by the magnifying optical system 4 and guiding it to the eyes EY of the observer by the reflecting unit 6, the observer can see the image light L1 generated by the image generating unit 3 The generated image light L1 is recognized as a virtual image formed in the viewer's field of view.

second embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the virtual image display device of the present invention will be described.

11 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of optical elements included in the virtual image display device of the second embodiment, FIG. 11( a ) is a front view, FIG. 11( b ) is a top view, and FIG. 11( c ) is a right side view, Fig. 11(d) is a diagram on the left side. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the path of image light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 11 .

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the virtual image display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to this figure, focusing on points that are different from the above-mentioned embodiment, and descriptions of the same matters will be omitted.

The second embodiment is the same as the above-mentioned embodiment except that the structure of the magnifying optical part is different.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the optical element 5X has a first optical element (optical element) 5A and a second optical element (optical element) 5B, and these two optical elements 5A, 5B are integrated. Specifically, the optical elements 5A and 5B have the same configuration as the optical element 5 used in the first embodiment, and the optical element 5B is arranged in a state where the optical element 5A is rotated by 90° around the Z axis.

Hereinafter, this optical element 5A will be described in detail.

In the optical element 5X, these (optical elements 5A, 5B) are integrated by joining the output surface 57A of the optical element 5A and the incident surface 56B of the optical element 5B. Furthermore, the incident surface 56A of the optical element 5A corresponds to the incident surface of the optical element 5X, and the output surface 57B of the optical element 5B corresponds to the output surface of the optical element 5X.

In addition, the optical element 5X has side surfaces 58Xa and 58Xb that face each other in the thickness direction (X-axis direction) of the optical element 5X, and have side surfaces 58Xa and 58Xb that face each other in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the optical element 5X, as in the first embodiment. The sides 59Xa, 59Xb of the. All of the side surfaces 58Xa, 58Xb, 59Xa, and 59Xb are total reflection surfaces, and totally reflect the image light L2 incident on the inside of the optical element 5X.

Furthermore, the optical element 5A is a first one-dimensional array in which light guides 51A, 52A, and 53A are arranged in each thickness direction (first direction) via half mirror layers 54A, 55A. Further, the optical element 5B is a second one-dimensional array in which the light guides 51B, 52B, and 53B are arranged in each thickness direction (second direction) via the half mirror layers 54B, 55B. Thus, the optical element 5X has two 1-dimensional arrays.

In addition, the lamination direction (X-axis direction) which is the direction in which the light guides 51A, 52A, and 53A of the optical element 5A are aligned, and the lamination direction (Y-axis direction) which is the alignment direction of the light guides 51B, 52B, and 53B of the optical element 5B. Different, here it is orthogonal.

The optical element 5X having the above structure multiple-reflects the image light L2 incident from the incident surface 56A inside the optical element 5X, and emits the image light L3a, L3b, L4a, L4b from the emission surface 57B as the image light L3a, L3b, L4a, L4b in a state in which the beam width is enlarged (see FIG. 12).

Specifically, as in the first embodiment, the image light L2 incident from the incident surface 56A and guided into the optical element 5A undergoes total reflection repeatedly on the side surfaces 58Xa and 58Xb on the side of the optical element 5A, and is reflected on the half mirror layer. 54A and 55A propagate along the Z-axis direction while repeating reflection and transmission. The image light L2 propagating in the Z-axis direction in the optical element 5A is emitted from the output surface 57A of the optical element 5A, and is guided into the optical element 5B from the incident surface 56B. The image light L2 guided into the optical element 5B undergoes total reflection repeatedly on the side surfaces 58Xa, 58Xb, 59Xa, and 59Xb on the side of the optical element 5B, and repeats reflection and transmission on the half mirror layers 54B, 55B, while being repeatedly reflected and transmitted along the Z side. Axial propagation. In this way, the image light L2 is multiple-reflected inside the optical element 5X, and is emitted from the emission surface 57B as image lights L3 a , L3 b , L4 a , and L4 b. Furthermore, the image light L3a is transmitted to the reflection unit 6 through the correction lens 42, and the image light L3b, L4a, and L4b are blocked as unnecessary light by a light shielding plate (not shown). In addition, in this embodiment, only the image light L3a is transmitted to the reflector 6 , but two or more image lights among the image lights L3a , L3b , L4a , and L4b may be transmitted to the reflector 6 .

Here, as described above, the alignment direction (stacking direction) of the light guide portions 51A, 52A, and 53A of the optical element 5A is perpendicular to the alignment direction (stacking direction) of the light guide portions 51B, 52B, and 53B of the optical element 5B. Further, the optical elements 5X are arranged so that the image light L2 emitted from the exit surface 57A of one optical element (first one-dimensional array) 5A enters the incident surface 56B of the other optical element (second one-dimensional array) 5B, and the exit surface 57A is connected to the incident surface 56B. Therefore, the cross-sectional area of the image light L2 incident from the incident surface 56A can be enlarged in two directions, which are the directions in which the respective light guides are arranged. Furthermore, multiple reflections can be performed by a plurality of light guides (in this embodiment, light guides 51A, 52A, 53A, 51B, 52B, and 53B), thereby further improving the image light L3a, L3b output from the output surface 57A. , The uniformity of the intensity distribution of L4a, L4b.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the direction in which the light guides 51A, 52A, and 53A are arranged (the lamination direction) is perpendicular to the direction in which the light guides 51B, 52B, and 53B of the optical element 5B are arranged (the lamination direction), but the direction is not limited to Here, if the alignment direction of the light guide parts 51A, 52A, and 53A is different from the alignment direction of the light guide parts 51B, 52B, and 53B, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained.

The optical element 5X of the second embodiment configured as above can also enlarge the beam width of the image light L2 with a relatively simple structure as in the first embodiment.

third embodiment

Next, a third embodiment of the virtual image display device of the present invention will be described.

13 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an optical element included in a virtual image display device according to a third embodiment, FIG. 13( a ) is a front view, FIG. 13( b ) is a plan view, and FIG. 13( c ) is a right side view, Fig. 13(d) is a diagram on the left side. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the path of image light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 13 .

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the virtual image display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to this figure, focusing on points that are different from the above-mentioned embodiment, and descriptions of the same matters will be omitted.

The third embodiment is the same as the above-mentioned embodiment except that the structure of the optical element is different.

Hereinafter, the optical element 5Y included in the virtual image display device of the third embodiment will be described in detail.

Like the first embodiment, the optical element 5Y has an incident surface 56Y, an output surface 57Y opposed in its longitudinal direction (Z-axis direction), side surfaces 58Ya, 58Yb opposed in a thickness direction (X-axis direction), and Side surfaces 59Ya and 59Yb facing each other in the width direction (Y-axis direction).

In addition, all of the side surfaces 58Ya, 58Yb, 59Ya, and 59Yb are total reflection surfaces, and totally reflect the image light L2 incident on the inside of the optical element 5Y.

Such an optical element 5Y has a first light guide (light guide) 51C, a second light guide (light guide) 52C, a third light guide (light guide) 51D, a fourth light guide (light guide) part) 53C, fifth light guide part (light guide part) 52D, sixth light guide part (light guide part) 53D, seventh light guide part (light guide part) 51E, eighth light guide part (light guide part) 52E, ninth light guide part (light guide part) 53E, half mirror layer (first light branching layer) 54C, half mirror layer (second light branching layer) 55C, half mirror layer (third light branching layer) ) 54D, half mirror layer (fourth light branching layer) 55D.

The nine light guides 51C, 52C, 53C, 51D, 52D, 53D, 51E, 52E, and 53E are arranged in a 3×3 matrix in the mutually orthogonal X-axis direction and Y-axis direction. Specifically, the optical element 5Y is configured such that, for example, the first light guide portion 51C, the second light guide portion 52C, and the fourth light guide portion 53C are arranged along the first direction (Y-axis direction), and the first light guide portion 51C, the second light guide portion The third light guide part 51D and the seventh light guide part 51E are arranged along a second direction (X-axis direction) different from the above-mentioned first direction (Y-axis direction). Furthermore, the second light guide portion 52C, the fifth light guide portion 52D, and the eighth light guide portion 52E are arranged along a second direction (X-axis direction) different from the above-mentioned first direction (Y-axis direction). Furthermore, the fourth light guide portion 53C, the sixth light guide portion 53D, and the ninth light guide portion 53E are arranged along a second direction (X-axis direction) different from the above-mentioned first direction (Y-axis direction). In this way, the nine light guide portions 51C, 52C, 53C, 51D, 52D, 53D, 51E, 52E, and 53E are arranged two-dimensionally.

Furthermore, half mirror layers 54C, 55C, 54D, and 55D are provided between the respective light guide portions 51C, 52C, 53C, 51D, 52D, 53D, 51E, 52E, and 53E.

As shown in FIG. 14 , in the optical element 5Y having such a structure, the image light L2 incident from the incident surface 56Y is multiple-reflected inside the optical element 5Y, and the image light L3c, L3d, L4c, and L4d in a state in which the beam width is enlarged are obtained. It is emitted from the emission surface 57Y.

Specifically, the image light L2 scanned by the optical scanning unit 35 enters from the incident surface 56Y, is guided into the optical element 5Y, and undergoes repeated total reflection on the side surfaces 58Ya, 58Yb, 59Ya, and 59Yb, and is then reflected on the half mirror. The layers 54C, 55C, 54D, and 55D repeat reflection and transmission while propagating in the Z-axis direction. In this way, the image light L2 is multiple-reflected inside the optical element 5Y, and is emitted from the emission surface 57Y as image lights L3c, L3d, L4c, and L4d. Furthermore, the image light L3c is transmitted to the reflection unit 6 through the correcting lens 42, and the image light L3d, L4c, and L4d are blocked as unnecessary light by a light shielding plate (not shown). In addition, in this embodiment, only the image light L3c is transmitted to the reflector 6 , but two or more image lights among the image lights L3c , L3d , L4c , and L4d may be transmitted to the reflector 6 .

Here, as described above, the optical element 5Y has nine light guide portions 51C, 52C, 53C, 51D, 52D, 53D, 51E, 52E, and 53E arranged two-dimensionally. Therefore, the cross-sectional area of the image light L2 incident from the incident surface 56Y can be enlarged in two directions, which are the directions in which the respective light guides are arranged. In addition, multiple reflections can be performed by a plurality of light guides (in this embodiment, light guides 51C, 52C, 53C, 51D, 52D, 53D, 51E, 52E, and 53E), thereby further improving the output from the output surface 57Y. The uniformity of the intensity distribution of the image light L3c, L3d, L4c, L4d.

In addition, in this embodiment, the light guides 51C, 52C, 53C, 51D, 52D, 53D, 51E, 52E, and 53E are arranged in a matrix of 3×3, but the number, arrangement, shape, etc. of the light guides do not vary. Limiting to this, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained as long as the light guides are arranged two-dimensionally.

The optical element 5Y of the third embodiment configured as above can also enlarge the beam width of the image light L2 with a relatively simple structure as in the first embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment

Next, a fourth embodiment of the virtual image display device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing optical elements included in a virtual image display device according to a fourth embodiment, FIG. 15( a ) is a plan view, and FIG. 15( b ) is a side view. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the path of image light incident on the optical element shown in FIG. 15 .

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the virtual image display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to this figure, focusing on points that are different from the above-mentioned embodiments, and descriptions of the same matters will be omitted.

In the fourth embodiment, the correction lens 42 , the light shielding plate 43 , and the reflection unit 6 are not provided, and the magnifying light guide unit 60 is provided instead, and the above-mentioned first embodiment is the same as other points.

As shown in FIG. 15 , the enlarged light guide unit 60 includes a first light guide plate (first enlarged light guide unit) 66 and a second light guide plate (second enlarged light guide unit) 62 on which the light extraction unit 64 is formed. Furthermore, the amplifying light guide part 60 is connected to the optical element 5 .

The magnifying light guide unit 60 has a function of causing the image light L3 from the optical element 5 to enter toward the observer's eyes EY, and also has a function of two-dimensionally amplifying the image light L3 emitted from the optical element 5 . That is, the amplifying light guide unit 60 has a function of further amplifying the beam width of the image light L3 emitted from the optical element 5 .

Hereinafter, the enlarged light guide unit 60 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 15( a ), the first light guide plate 66 is formed in an elongated shape, and has a pair of light guide plates facing each other in the width direction of the first light guide plate 66 (thickness direction of the enlarged light guide part 60: Z-axis direction). The side surfaces 613, 614, the first main surface (first reflective surface) 615 and the second main surface (first reflective surface) 615 facing each other in the thickness direction of the first light guide plate 66 (the direction perpendicular to the width direction and the longitudinal direction of the first light guide plate 66). Two main surfaces 612 . The first main surface 615 is parallel to the second main surface 612 , and the side surface 613 is parallel to the side surface 614 . In addition, in this specification, "parallel" means that the angle formed by each surface is ±2° or less, more preferably 0.2° or less.

The second light guide plate 62 is fixed to the second main surface 612 of the first light guide plate 66 .

The second light guide plate 62 is formed in an elongated shape long in the X-axis direction, and has a pair of first main surfaces 621 and second main surfaces facing each other in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction) of the second light guide plate 62 . 622 , a pair of side faces 623 and 624 facing each other in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the second light guide plate 62 , and a pair of end faces 625 facing each other in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the second light guide plate 62 , 626. Moreover, the first main surface 621 is parallel to the second main surface 622 , and the side surface 623 is parallel to the side surface 624 . Furthermore, the end surface 625 is inclined with respect to the width direction (incident direction) of the second light guide plate 62 , and its plan view shape is equal to the plan view shape of the second main surface 612 of the first light guide plate 66 . On the other hand, the end surface 626 is set perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the second light guide plate 62 .

In addition, the inclination angle θ1 of the end surface 625 is preferably not less than 20° and not more than 70°, more preferably not less than 40° and not more than 50°, particularly preferably 45°. Thus, when the image light L3 emitted from the optical element 5 is incident in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the second light guide plate 62 , the image light L3 can be guided along the longitudinal direction of the second light guide plate 62 . Thereby, adjustment of an incident angle becomes easy.

In addition, on the first main surface 621 of the second light guide plate 62, there is provided a device for extracting the light guided on the second light guide plate 62 to the outside of the second light guide plate 62 (the front side of the paper in FIG. 15( a )). Light extraction part 64 . The light extraction unit 64 is composed of a hologram element 641 . The hologram element 641 has a width in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the second light guide plate 62 and a height in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the second light guide plate 62 . Like the first embodiment, the hologram element 641 is a partially reflective transmissive film having a property of diffracting light of a specific wavelength band and transmitting light of other wavelength bands. The hologram element 641 adjusts video light of a specific wavelength band by diffraction to make the incident angle and beam state desired, thereby forming a virtual image and transmitting most of the components of external light in a wide range of wavelength bands. By using the hologram element 641 as the light extraction unit 64, the traveling direction of light can be easily changed, and the virtual image display device 1 excellent in light utilization efficiency can be provided.

For such a first light guide plate 66 and a second light guide plate 62, the second main surface 612 of the first light guide plate 66 and the end surface 625 of the second light guide plate 62 are fixed, and the width direction of the first light guide plate 66 and the second light guide plate 66 are fixed. The thickness direction of the light guide plate 62 is consistent.

The image light L3 on the side of the second main surface 612 of the second light guide plate 62 included in the amplifying light guide unit 60 having such a structure and in the vicinity of the boundary between the side surface 624 and the end surface 625 (high transmission surface 671 described later) The advancing direction near side) is provided with optical element 5. The optical element 5 is arranged such that the image lights L3 and L4 emitted from the optical element 5 are incident on the first light guide plate 66 through a high transmission surface 671 to be described later with respect to the amplifying light guide portion 60 . In addition, the optical element 5 is arranged such that the side surface 58 a and the side surface 58 b are aligned in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 15 , and the side surface 59 a and the side surface 59 b are aligned in the X-axis direction.

In such an enlarged light guide part 60, the first main surface 615, the side surfaces 613, 614 of the first light guide plate 66, the first main surface 621, the second main surface 622, and the side surfaces 623, 624 of the second light guide plate 62 become A total reflection surface that completely reflects incident light.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16 , between the first light guide plate 66 and the second light guide plate 62 , a partially transmissive reflection surface (second reflection surface) 67 is formed. In this embodiment, the partial transmission and reflection surface 67 is formed on the second main surface 612 of the first light guide plate 66 . The partial transmissive reflection surface 67 is formed on the second main surface 612 of the first light guide plate 66 except both ends (the surface indicated by the thick line in FIG. 16( a )). And, the partial transmission reflective surface 67 reflects a part of the incident light and transmits a part of the incident light. In addition, the partially transmissive reflective surface 67 may also be formed on the end surface 625 of the second light guide plate 62 .

The method for forming the partially transmissive reflection surface 67 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method of vapor-depositing a metal film such as Cr or Ag, a dielectric film, or a mixed film obtained by combining them.

In addition, in the partial transmissive reflection surface 67 , the light transmittance of the lower end portion in FIG. 16 is not less than 5% and not more than 10%, and the light transmittance of the upper end portion in FIG. 16 is not less than 12% and not more than 17%. In addition, in the part between both ends of the partial transmissive reflection surface 67 , the light transmittance gradually increases as the distance from the high transmissive surface (light incident part) 671 described later. As a method of such a structure, for example, a method of adjusting the thickness of the above-mentioned metal film, the above-mentioned dielectric film, or the above-mentioned mixed film, etc. are mentioned.

And, on both end sides of the partial transmission reflection surface 67 (the region where the partial transmission reflection surface 67 is not formed in the second main surface 612 of the first light guide plate 66 ), there is formed High transmittance surfaces 671 and 672 with high light efficiency. The high transmission surface 671 is located on the side 624 side of the partial transmission reflection surface 67 , and the high transmission surface 672 is located on the side surface 623 of the partial transmission reflection surface 67 . The light transmittance of the high transmittance surfaces 671 and 672 is preferably 95% or more.

Here, the principle of two-dimensionally amplifying the image lights L3 and L4 emitted from the optical element 5 by the enlarging light guide 60 will be described. In addition, the principle of two-dimensionally amplifying the image light L3 by the magnifying light guide part 60 as a representative of the image lights L3 and L4 will be described in detail below. In addition, hereinafter, the amount of attenuation when light is reflected by the total reflection surface is sufficiently small relative to the amount of light incident on the total reflection surface, so that the above attenuation amount can be ignored. In addition, when the image light L3 is guided by the first light guide plate 66, the image light L3 repeats total reflection between the first main surface 615, the second main surface 612, and the side surfaces 613 and 614, and then passes through the first light guide plate 66. However, for convenience of illustration, the image light L3 is repeatedly reflected between the first main surface 615 and the second main surface 612 and then guided on the first light guide plate 66 . Similarly, when the light is guided on the second light guide plate 62 , the image light L3 is repeatedly totally reflected between the first main surface 621 , the second main surface 622 , and the side surfaces 623 and 624 and is absorbed on the second light guide plate 62 . However, for the convenience of illustration, the image light L3 is repeatedly reflected between the first main surface 621 and the second main surface 622 and then guided on the second light guide plate 62 .

First, the image light L3 emitted from the optical element 5 enters the first light guide plate 66 through the side surface 624 and the high transmission surface 671 of the second light guide plate 62 . As described above, the light transmittance of the high transmittance surface 671 is greater than 95%, so that most of the light can be incident into the first light guide plate 66 .

As shown in FIG. 16( a ), the image light L3 transmitted through the high transmission surface 671 is reflected by the portion 67A of the first main surface 615 , and partially transmits through the reflection surface 67 . Part of the image light L3 that reaches the portion 67A that partially transmits the reflection surface 67 is reflected, and goes toward the first main surface 615 again as light L31 . Then, a part (remaining part) of the image light L3 reaching the portion 67A partially transmitted through the reflection surface 67 enters the second light guide plate 62 as light L32 .

As shown in Figure 16 (b), the light L31 towards the first main surface 615 is reflected by the part 615B on the downstream side of the light advancing direction compared with the part 615A of the first main surface 615, and then is transmitted toward the partial reflection surface 67 again. . The light L31 reaching the portion 67B downstream of the portion 67A partially transmitted through the reflective surface 67 in the direction of light advance is partly reflected as described above, and goes toward the first main surface 615 again as light L33 . The remaining part of the light L31 that reaches the part 67B partially transmitted through the reflection surface 67 enters the second light guide plate 62 as light L34 .

Total reflection and partial reflection are repeated in this way, and the image light L3 is guided in the first light guide plate 66 and also enters the second light guide plate 62 . And, the light (light L32～light Lx) incident on the second light guide plate 62 repeats total reflection between the first main surface 621 and the second main surface 622 of the second light guide plate 62, and is directed from the left side in FIG. The right side in Figure 16 is directed. In addition, part of the light L32 to the light Lx is extracted by the hologram element 641 to the outside of the second light guide plate 62 , so that the observer can recognize it as a virtual image. At this time, as shown in FIG. 15( b ), the light L32 to the light Lx are multiple-reflected between the hologram element 641 and the second main surface 622 . Part of the light L32 to the light Lx passes through the hologram element 641 , and is emitted toward the outside of the second light guide plate 62 along the thickness direction of the second light guide plate 62 .

In this way, the light L32 to the light Lx are amplified in the width direction of the hologram element 641 (the longitudinal direction of the second light guide plate 62: the X-axis direction).

Here, when the light transmittance of the image light incident on the second light guide plate 62 is constant over the entire length of the partially transmitted reflection surface 67 in the longitudinal direction of the partially transmitted reflection surface 67, the The high transmission surface 671 is attenuated. That is, in the case where the light transmittance of the partially transmissive reflective surface 67 is constant over the entire length of the partially transmissive reflective surface 67 in the longitudinal direction, in the light incident on the second light guide plate 62, the amount of light is in the range of light L32 to light L32. The order of Lx decays and becomes less. However, as described above, in the partial transmissive reflection surface 67 , the light transmittance is configured such that the light transmittance gradually increases as the distance from the high transmission surface 671 increases. Therefore, for example, the video light L34 is transmitted through a portion of the partially transmitted reflection surface 67 whose light transmittance is higher than the light transmittance of the portion through which the light L32 passes. As a result, the difference between the light quantity of the light L32 and the light quantity of the light L34 can be made as small as possible. Thereby, the light quantity of the light (light L32 - light Lx) which enters the 2nd light guide plate 62 can be made uniform as much as possible. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the unevenness of the virtual image displayed by the hologram element 641 .

In addition, the image light Lx is light having a large amount of attenuation among the image light L32 to the light Lx. However, as shown in FIG. 16(b), since the image light Lx passes through the high transmission surface 672, the light quantity of the image light (image light L32 to light Lx) incident on the second light guide plate 62 can be more effectively made approximately uniform.

Moreover, as a material which comprises the 1st light guide plate 66 and the 2nd light guide plate 62, it will not specifically limit if each has light transmittance, For example, various resins, such as acrylic and epoxy resin, various glass, etc. can be used.

In this way, the enlarged light guide unit 60 magnifies the image light L3 on the first light guide plate 66 in the vertical direction in FIG. 16 , and on the second light guide plate 62 (hologram element 641 ) in the left and right directions in FIG. 16 . That is, the magnifying light guide unit 60 can magnify the image light L3 two-dimensionally. In addition, in the amplifying light guide unit 60 , the image light L3 can be two-dimensionally amplified by a very simple structure in which the first main surface 615 of the first light guide plate 66 is arranged to face each other in parallel with the partially transmissive reflection surface 67 .

In addition, when manufacturing the amplifying light guide part 60 , it is only necessary to adjust so that the two surfaces (the first main surface 615 and the second main surface 612 of the first light guide plate 66 ) are parallel, so the manufacture can be very easily. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the enlarged light guide portion 60 can be manufactured by a simple method of fixing the first light guide plate 66 with a constant thickness to the end surface 625 of the second light guide plate 62 .

Fifth Embodiment

Next, a fifth embodiment of the virtual image display device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image generating unit included in a virtual image display device according to a fifth embodiment.

Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the virtual image display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to this figure, focusing on points that are different from the above-mentioned embodiment, and descriptions of the same matters will be omitted.

The fifth embodiment is the same as the above-mentioned embodiment except that the structure of the image generating unit is different.

As shown in FIG. 17 , the image generator 900 has a light source device 920 , a uniform illumination optical system 930 , a light modulation device 940 , and a projection optical system 960 .

Such an image generator 900 forms video light by modulating the light emitted from the light source device 920 by the light modulation device 940 in accordance with the video signal to be given.

The light source device 920 includes an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 921 and a reflector 922 as a light source. In such a configuration, the light emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 921 is reflected by the reflector 922 to be focused on the front side. In addition, as a light source, it is not limited to an ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp, For example, a metal halide lamp etc. can also be used.

The uniform illumination optical system 930 has a rod integrator 931 , a color wheel 932 , a relay lens group 933 , and a mirror 934 . In such a uniform illumination optical system 930 , the light beam emitted from the light source device 920 passes through the color wheel 932 and enters the rod integrator 931 at an angle.

The color wheel 932 is rotatable by a driving source such as a motor (not shown). In addition, a color filter surface 932a is formed on the color wheel 932 to face the port formed at the end of the rod integrator 931 on the incident side, and R (red and red) are formed in parallel on the color filter surface 932a at intervals in the circumferential direction. ), G (green), and B (blue) color filters. In addition, the color wheel 932 may also be provided on the emission side of the rod integrator 931 .

The light beam incident on the color wheel 932 is color-separated into three colors of red (R) light, green (G) light, and blue (B) light by the color filter surface 932 a in time series. Separation into the three colors of red, green, and blue is performed at a frequency higher than the frame rate of the displayed virtual image (image). By performing color separation at such a frequency, a full-color image can be displayed.

The light (red light, green light, blue light) passing through the color wheel 932 is introduced into the interior of the rod integrator 931 from the incident port. The light introduced into the rod integrator 931 is reflected multiple times inside the rod integrator 931 , thereby ensuring uniform illuminance on the emission surface of the rod integrator 931 . Therefore, the light emitted from the output port of the rod integrator 931 has a uniform illumination distribution.

The light emitted from the rod integrator 931 enters the light modulation device 940 as uniform illumination light via the relay lens group 933 and the reflection mirror 934 .

The light modulation device 940 has a substrate 941 and a plurality of light modulation elements 942 (eg, DMD (Digital Micromirror Device). "DMD" is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments Inc.) arrayed on the substrate 941 . A plurality of light modulation elements 942 are arranged in a matrix on the substrate 941 . The number of light modulation elements 942 is not particularly limited. When one light modulation element 942 constitutes one pixel, the light modulation element 942 is arranged such that the number of pixels is, for example, horizontal x vertical = 1280 x 1024, 640 x 480.

Each light modulation element 942 has a movable mirror for reflecting an incident light beam, and the posture of the movable mirror is changed to an ON state for guiding the reflected light to the projection optical system 960, or an inclination relative to the ON state. Instead, the off state of the reflected light is guided to an absorber (not shown).

In addition, a control unit (not shown) is provided in the image generation unit 900, and the light modulation device 940 independently switches on and off of each light modulation element 942 based on, for example, a video signal (image information) supplied to the control unit (not shown). status/disconnected status. Thereby, predetermined image light (image light) is formed. Then, the formed image light enters the optical element 5 via the projection optical system 960 .

By using such an image generation unit 900 , clear image light can be made incident on the optical element 5 .

Also in the fifth embodiment described above, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be achieved.

Sixth Embodiment

Next, a sixth embodiment of the virtual image display device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image generation unit included in a virtual image display device according to a sixth embodiment.

Hereinafter, a sixth embodiment of the virtual image display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to this figure, focusing on points that are different from the above-mentioned embodiments, and descriptions of the same matters will be omitted.

The sixth embodiment is the same as the above-mentioned embodiment except that the configuration of the image generating unit is different.

As shown in FIG. 18 , the image generator 800 has an illumination optical system 810, a color separation optical system 820, parallelizing lenses 830R, 830G, and 830B, spatial light modulation devices 840R, 840G, and 840B, an orthogonal dichroic prism 850, and a projection Optical system 860.

The illumination optical system 810 has a light source 811 , a reflector 812 , a first lens array 813 , a second lens array 814 , a polarization conversion element 815 , and a superposition lens 816 .

The light source 811 is an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, and the reflector 812 is composed of a parabolic mirror. The radial light beams emitted from the light source 811 are reflected by the reflector 812 to become approximately parallel light beams, and are emitted toward the first lens array 813 . In addition, as the light source 811, it is not limited to an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, For example, a metal halide lamp etc. can also be used. In addition, the reflector 812 is not limited to a parabolic mirror, and a configuration in which a parallelizing concave lens is arranged on the output surface of the reflector 812 formed of an elliptical mirror may be employed.

The first lens array 813 and the second lens array 814 are formed by arranging small lenses in a matrix. The light beam emitted from the light source 811 is divided into a plurality of small partial light beams by the first lens array 813, and each partial light beam is transmitted to the three spatial light modulation devices 840R, 840G, and 840B as illumination objects by the second lens array 814 and the superposition lens 816. surface overlay.

The polarization conversion element 815 has the function of aligning the light beams of random polarized light into linearly polarized light (s-polarized light or p-polarized light) vibrating in one direction. The beam loses less s-polarized light.

The color separation optical system 820 has the function of separating the light beam emitted from the illumination optical system 810 into three color lights of red (R) light, green (G) light, and blue (B) light, and is equipped with a B light reflecting dichroic mirror. 821 , an RG light reflecting dichroic mirror 822 , a G light reflecting dichroic mirror 823 , and reflecting mirrors 824 and 825 .

In the light beam emitted from the illumination optical system 810 , the blue light component is reflected by the B light reflecting dichroic mirror 821 , is reflected by the reflecting mirrors 824 and 861 , and reaches the parallelizing lens 830B. On the other hand, among the light beams emitted from the illumination optical system 810 , components of the G light and the R light are reflected by the RG light reflecting dichroic mirror 822 , are reflected by the reflecting mirror 825 , and reach the G light reflecting dichroic mirror 823 . The G light component is reflected by the G light reflecting dichroic mirror 823 and the reflecting mirror 862 and reaches the parallelizing lens 830G, and the red light component passes through the G light reflecting dichroic mirror 823, is reflected by the reflecting mirror 863 and reaches the parallelizing lens 830R.

The parallelizing lenses 830R, 830G, and 830B are set so that, with respect to the plurality of partial light beams from the illumination optical system 810, the partial light beams respectively illuminate the spatial light modulation devices 840R, 840G, and 840B so that the respective partial light beams are approximately parallel. Beam.

The red light passing through the parallelizing lens 830R reaches the spatial light modulation device (first spatial light modulation device) 840R, and the green light passing through the parallelizing lens 830G reaches the spatial light modulation device (second spatial light modulation device) 840G, The blue light passing through the parallelizing lens 830B reaches the spatial light modulation device (third spatial light modulation device) 840B.

The spatial light modulation device 840R is a spatial light modulation device that modulates red light in accordance with an image signal, and is a transmissive liquid crystal display device (LCD). In the liquid crystal panel (not shown) provided in the spatial light modulation device 840R, a liquid crystal layer for modulating light according to an image signal is sealed between two transparent substrates. The red light modulated by the spatial light modulator 840R enters the cross dichroic prism 850 as a color synthesis optical system. In addition, the structures and functions of the spatial light modulation devices 840G and 840B are the same as those of the spatial light modulation device 840R.

The cross dichroic prism 850 is formed by bonding four triangular prism-shaped prisms into a prism shape with an approximately square cross section, and dielectric multilayer films 851 and 852 are provided along the X-shaped bonding surface. The dielectric multilayer film 851 transmits green light and reflects red light, and the dielectric multilayer film 852 transmits green light and reflects blue light. Furthermore, the cross dichroic prism 850 makes the modulated lights of the respective colors emitted from the spatial light modulators 840R, 840G, and 840B enter and combine them from the incident surfaces 850R, 850G, and 850B to form image light, and directs the image light toward The projection optical system 860 exits.

The image light emitted from the projection optical system 860 enters the optical element 5 .

By using such an image generation unit 800 , clear image light can be made incident on the optical element 5 .

The above-mentioned sixth embodiment can also achieve the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment.

In addition, in this embodiment, a virtual image display device including an image generating unit using three transmissive liquid crystal display devices (LCD) as spatial light modulators (light valves) has been described, but as a The configuration of the image generation unit is not limited to this. For example, a configuration using three reflective liquid crystal display devices (LCD) as the spatial light modulation device may also be used. In addition, regardless of the transmissive type/reflective type, for example, a structure using two liquid crystal display devices may be used.

Seventh Embodiment

Next, a seventh embodiment of the virtual image display device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image generation unit included in a virtual image display device according to a seventh embodiment.

Hereinafter, a seventh embodiment of the virtual image display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to this figure, focusing on points that are different from the above-mentioned embodiments, and descriptions of the same matters will be omitted.

The seventh embodiment is the same as the above-mentioned embodiment except that the structure of the image generating unit is different.

As shown in FIG. 19 , the image generator 7 has a light source unit 71 , a PBS prism 73 , a reflective liquid crystal panel 74 , and a projection optical system 75 .

The light source unit 71 includes red, green, and blue laser light sources 71R, 71G, and 71B, collimator lenses 72R, 72G, and 72B, and dichroic mirrors 73R, 73G, and 73B provided corresponding to the laser light sources 71R, 71G, and 71B.

The laser light sources 71R, 71G, and 71B each have a light source and a drive circuit (not shown). Furthermore, the laser light source 71R emits red laser light, the laser light source 71G emits green laser light, and the laser light source 71B emits blue laser light. Laser light of each color emitted from these laser light sources 71R, 71G, and 71B is linearly polarized light, and vibrates in the same direction (for example, S waves).

The laser beams of the respective colors emitted from the laser light sources 71R, 71G, and 71B are collimated by the collimator lenses 72R, 72G, and 72B, and enter the dichroic mirrors 73R, 73G, and 73B. The dichroic mirror 73R has a characteristic of reflecting red laser light. The dichroic mirror 73B has characteristics of reflecting blue laser light and transmitting red laser light. The dichroic mirror 73G has characteristics of reflecting green laser light and transmitting red and blue laser light.

The laser light sources 71R, 71G, and 71B are controlled and driven to blink sequentially, thereby sequentially emitting red laser light, green laser light, and blue laser light. The emitted laser light of each color passes through a collimator lens and a dichroic mirror, is reflected by a reflective surface of a PBS (polarizing beam splitter) prism 73 , and is projected toward a reflective liquid crystal panel 74 .

The reflective liquid crystal panel 74 is a spatial light modulation device, is LCOS (Liquid Crystalon Silicon) and has a reflective layer.

Laser light (image light) of each color that is reflected by the reflective layer and passes through the PBS prism 73 enters the optical element 5 via the projection optical system 75 .

In addition, the vibration directions of the laser beams of the respective colors reflected by the reflective liquid crystal panel 74 are rotated by 90° to become p-polarized light.

By using such an image generation unit 7 , clear image light can be made incident on the optical element 5 .

The above-mentioned seventh embodiment can also achieve the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment.

In addition, in the present embodiment, a single-panel system using one reflective liquid crystal panel 74 is used, but the configuration of the image generation unit is not limited to this. For example, a three-panel system in which reflective liquid crystal panels are respectively provided for red light, green light, and blue light may also be used. Furthermore, for example, instead of a reflective liquid crystal panel, a transmissive liquid crystal panel may be used as the spatial light modulation device (light valve).

Eighth embodiment

Next, an eighth embodiment of the virtual image display device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image generation unit included in a virtual image display device according to an eighth embodiment.

Hereinafter, an eighth embodiment of the virtual image display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to this figure, focusing on points that are different from the above-mentioned embodiment, and descriptions of the same matters will be omitted.

The eighth embodiment is the same as the above-mentioned embodiment except that the structure of the image generating unit is different.

As shown in FIG. 20 , the image generator 700 has an organic EL device 70 and a collimator lens (not shown).

The organic EL device 70 includes a substrate 710, a reflective layer 722, a protective layer 726, an anode 724 (724R, 724G, 724B), an organic functional layer 730 (730R, 730G, 730B), a cathode 732, a partition wall 728, a sealing layer 744, and a color filter substrate 740 . Furthermore, the organic EL device 70 is a top emission type that emits light toward the color filter substrate 740 side.

Here, the organic EL element 78R is constituted by the anode 724R, the organic functional layer 730R, and a part of the cathode 732 . Similarly, the organic EL element 78G is constituted by the anode 724G, the organic functional layer 730G, and a part of the cathode 732 , and the organic EL element 78B is constituted by the anode 724B, the organic functional layer 730B, and a part of the cathode 732 .

A TFT (not shown) including a semiconductor film, a gate insulating layer, a gate electrode, a drain electrode, and a source electrode is provided on the substrate 710 and on each of the organic EL elements 78R, 78G, and 78B. Furthermore, since the organic EL device 70 is a top emission type, the substrate 710 may be made of either a light-transmitting material or a light-impermeable material.

The protective layer 726 is provided to cover the base material 710 and the reflective layer 722 . The upper surface of the protective layer 726 is flat, and the protective layer 726 is formed of, for example, an inorganic insulating film such as SiO ₂ or an organic resin such as acrylic resin.

Anodes 724R, 724G, 724B are disposed on protective layer 726 . The anode 724 is made of a light-transmitting conductive material, such as ITO, for example.

The partition wall portion 728 is provided on the protective layer 726 . The partition wall portion 728 is formed of, for example, an organic resin such as acrylic resin.

Organic functional layers 730R, 730G, 730B are formed on the respective anodes 724R, 724G, 724B, respectively. The organic functional layer 730R emits red light, the organic functional layer 730G emits green light, and the organic functional layer 730B emits blue light.

The organic functional layers 730R, 730G, and 730B are composed of, for example, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer. In the organic functional layers 730R, 730G, and 730B, holes injected from the hole transport layer and electrons injected from the electron transport layer are recombined in the light emitting layer, thereby obtaining red light, green light, and blue light. By having three organic functional layers 730R, 730G, and 730B that emit light in this manner, the organic EL device 70 can emit light in full color.

The cathode 732 is provided so as to cover the partition wall portion 728 and the respective organic functional layers 730R, 730G, and 730B. The cathode 732 is a common electrode corresponding to all anodes. The cathode 732 functions as a semi-transmissive reflective layer having a property of transmitting a part of light reaching its surface and reflecting the other part. The cathode 732 is formed of, for example, magnesium (Mg) or silver (Ag) alone, or an alloy containing these as main components.

Furthermore, a passivation layer (not shown) is provided on the cathode 732 . The passivation layer is formed of, for example, an inorganic material with a low gas permeability such as SiO ₂ , and is a protective film for preventing deterioration of the organic EL device 70 due to intrusion of oxygen and moisture.

A color filter substrate 740 is arranged on the side opposite to the substrate 710 of the organic EL elements 78R, 78G, and 78B having such a structure.

The color filter substrate 740 is made of a translucent material such as glass. On the surface of the color filter substrate 740 on the base material 710 side, color filters 742R, 742G, and 742B and a light shielding layer 743 are formed.

The color filters 742R, 742G, and 742B overlap the organic EL elements 78R, 78G, and 78B in plan view. Here, one pixel of the organic EL device 70 is constituted by the above-mentioned three organic EL elements 78R, 78G, and 78B, and color filters 742R, 742G, and 742B provided to overlap them. That is, in FIG. 20 , one pixel of the organic EL device 70 is illustrated. In addition, the number of pixels of the organic EL device 70 is not particularly limited.

Furthermore, the color filters 742R, 742G, and 742B selectively transmit light in each wavelength band of red light, green light, and blue light among the light emitted from the organic EL elements 78R, 78G, and 78B. The color filter 742R corresponds to the wavelength band of red light, the color filter 742G corresponds to the wavelength band of green light, and the color filter 742B corresponds to the wavelength band of blue light.

In addition, the light shielding layer 743 is configured to partition the color filters 742R, 742G, and 742B.

Such a color filter substrate 740 is bonded to the base material 710 via the sealing layer 744 . The sealing layer 744 is formed of, for example, a light-transmitting curable resin such as epoxy resin.

The red light, green light, and blue light passing through the color filters 742R, 742G, and 742B of the organic EL device 70 having such a configuration enters a collimator lens (not shown). The red light, green light, and blue light emitted from the organic EL device 70 are adjusted (modulated) into approximately parallel beams by a collimator lens (not shown), and transmitted to the optical element 5 as modulated image light.

By using such an image generating unit 700 , clear image light can be made incident on the optical element 5 , and the size of the image generating unit 700 can be reduced.

The above-mentioned eighth embodiment can also achieve the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment.

As above, the virtual image display device and the head-mounted display according to the present invention have been described based on the illustrated embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the virtual image display device of the present invention, the configuration of each part can be replaced with an arbitrary configuration having the same function, and other arbitrary configurations can also be added.

Furthermore, in the present invention, any two or more configurations (features) of the above-described embodiments may be combined.

Moreover, if the virtual image display device of the present invention is a device that forms a virtual image as an image recognized by an observer, it is not limited to the case of being applied to a glasses-type head-mounted display, and can also be applied to a helmet-type or headset-type head, for example. A wearable display, an image display device in a form supported by the observer's neck or shoulders, and the like. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the entire image display device is attached to the observer's head has been described as an example, but the image display device may have a part attached to the observer's head, and a portion attached to the observer's head. The part other than the head is installed or carried.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the structure of the transmissive head-mounted display of the binocular type has been described as a representative, but for example, it may be a non-transmissive type that blocks the outside scene while the observer is wearing the head-mounted display. The structure of the head-mounted display.

In addition, the head-mounted display of the present invention may include devices that output sound, such as speakers and earphones.

Explanation of reference signs:

10: head-mounted display; 1: virtual image display device; 2: frame; 21: front; 211: frame; 212: pubic area; 22: temple; 23: nose pad; 27: recess; 3, 900, 800 , 7, 700: image generation unit; 31: image light generation unit; 311: light source unit; 311B: light source; 311G: light source; 311R: light source; 313: light synthesis unit; 313a, 313b: dichroic mirror; 321, 322: drive circuit; 32: drive signal generating unit; 312B: drive circuit; 312G: drive circuit; 312R: drive circuit; 33: control unit; 34: lens; 35: light scanning unit; 11: movable mirror unit; 12a, 12b: Shaft; 13: Frame; 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d: Shaft; 15: Support; 16: Permanent Magnet; 17: Coil; 18: Signal Superposition; 111: Base; 112: Spacer ; 113: light reflection plate; 114: light reflection part; 115: hard layer; 4: magnifying optical system; 42: correction lens; 43: light shielding plate; 5, 5X, 5Y: optical element; (optical element); 5B: second optical element (optical element); 51, 52, 53: light guide; 54: half mirror layer (first light branching layer); 55: half mirror layer (second light branch layer); 56: incident surface; 57: emitting surface; 58a, 58b: side surface; 59a, 59b: side surface; 6: reflection part; 61: aspherical mirror; 611: concave surface; 65: light deflection part; 651: Holographic element; EA: ear; EY: eye (left eye, right eye); NS: nose; H: head; A1, A2, B1, B2: magnetic field; L1, L2, L3, L4, L21, L22, L31 , L32, L33, L34, Lx: image light; L3a, L3b, L3c, L3d, L4a, L42b, L43c, L44d: image light; T1, T2: period; V1: first drive signal; V2: second drive signal ; X: axis; f1: resonance frequency; 51A, 51B: first light guide part (light guide part); 52A, 52B: second light guide part (light guide part); 53A, 53B: third light guide part ( light guide); 51C: first light guide (light guide); 52C: second light guide (light guide); 51D: third light guide (light guide); 53C: fourth light guide 52D: fifth light guide (light guide); 53D: sixth light guide (light guide); 51E: seventh light guide (light guide); 52E: eighth Light guide part (light guide part); 53E: ninth light guide part (light guide part); 54A, 54B, 55A, 55B: half mirror layer; 54C, 55C, 54D, 55D: half mirror layer; 56A, 56B, 56Y: incident surface; 57A, 57B, 57Y: emission surface; 58Xa, 58Xb, 58Ya, 58Yb: side surface; 59Xa, 59Xb, 59Ya, 59Yb: side surface; 60: enlarged light guide part; 66: first light guide plate (first enlarged light guide part); 62: second light guide plate (second enlarged light guide part); 64: light extraction part ;67: Partially through the reflective surface; 67A, 67B: part; 613: side; 614: side; 615: first main surface; 612: second main surface; 615A, 615B: part; 621: first main surface; 622: second main surface; 623, 624: side surface; 625, 626: end surface; 641: holographic element; 671, 672: high transmission surface; 911G, 911R: laser light source; 920: light source device; 921: ultra-high pressure mercury lamp ;922: reflector; 930: uniform illumination optical system; 931: rod integrator; 932: color wheel; 932a: color filter surface; 933: relay lens group; 934: mirror; 940: light modulation device; 941: Substrate; 942: light modulation element; 960: projection optical system; 810: illumination optical system; 811: light source; 812: reflector; 813: first lens array; 814: second lens array; 815: polarized light conversion element; 816: stacking lens; 820: color separation optical system; 821: B light reflecting dichroic mirror; 822: RG light reflecting dichroic mirror; 823: G light reflecting dichroic mirror; 824, 825: mirrors; 830B, 830G, 830R: parallelizing lens; 840B, 840G, 840R: spatial light modulation device; 850: cross dichroic prism; 850G, 850R: incident surface; 851, 852: dielectric multilayer film; 860: projection optical system; 861, 863 : mirror; 870: polarization rotator; 71: light source unit; 71B, 71G, 71R: laser light source; 72G, 72: collimator lens; 73: prism (PBS prism); 73B, 73G, 73R: dichroic mirror; 74: reflective liquid crystal panel; 75: collimator lens; 70: organic EL device; 710: substrate; 722: reflective layer; 724: anode; 724B, 724G, 724R: anode; 726: protective layer; 728: partition ; 730 (730R, 730G, 730B): organic functional layer; 732: cathode; 740: color filter substrate; 742B, 742G, 742R: color filter; 743: light shielding layer; 744: sealing layer; 78B, 78G , 78R: organic EL element; α: acute angle; θ5: angle; θ: tilt angle; θ1: tilt angle; w: axis.

Claims (14)

1. a virtual image display apparatus, is characterized in that,

Described virtual image display apparatus comprises:

Image production part, it generates the image light after based on signal of video signal modulation; And

Optical element, it has the plane of incidence and outgoing plane, and the described image light penetrated from described image production part incides this plane of incidence, is exaggerated the described image light of the sectional area to the described image light after described plane of incidence incidence from the injection of this outgoing plane,

Described optical element has:

First light guide section and the second light guide section, described first light guide section and described second light guide section connect the described plane of incidence and described outgoing plane, lead to the described image light penetrated from described image production part; And

First optical branch layer, it is located between described first light guide section and described second light guide section, and a part for the described image light penetrated from described image production part is reflected, and make a part for described image light through,

The described image light penetrated from described image production part is relative to described first optical branch layer oblique incidence.

2. virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1, is characterized in that,

Described optical element has described first light guide section and described second light guide section is 1 the one 1 dimension array arranged with tieing up along first direction.

3. virtual image display apparatus according to claim 2, is characterized in that,

Described optical element have described first light guide section and described second light guide section along the second direction different from described first direction be 1 arrange with tieing up the 21 tie up array,

Described 21 dimension array configurations is, makes the described image light of the outgoing plane injection of the described one 1 dimension array from a side incident to the plane of incidence of described 21 dimension array.

4. virtual image display apparatus according to claim 3, is characterized in that,

The outgoing plane of described one 1 dimension array is connected with described 21 plane of incidence tieing up array.

5. virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1, is characterized in that,

Described optical element also has:

3rd light guide section, it connects the described plane of incidence and described outgoing plane, and leads to described image light; And

Second optical branch layer, it is located between described first light guide section and described 3rd light guide section, and a part for described image light is reflected, and make a part for described image light through,

Described first light guide section and described second light guide section arrange along first direction, and described first light guide section arranges along the second direction different from described first direction with described 3rd light guide section.

6. the virtual image display apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, is characterized in that,

On the described plane of incidence, along described first light guide section in the direction that described first light guide section and described second light guide section arrange and the width of described second light guide section less than the width of the described image light in the direction arranged along described first light guide section and described second light guide section respectively.

7. the virtual image display apparatus according to any one of claim 1 ~ 6, is characterized in that,

The described plane of incidence is identical relative to the absolute value at the angle of inclination of described first optical branch layer with described outgoing plane.

8. the virtual image display apparatus according to any one of claim 1 ~ 7, is characterized in that,

Described virtual image display apparatus also possesses light deflector, and this light deflector makes the direction from the described image light of the described outgoing plane injection of described optical element to the eyes of observer deflect,

Described smooth deflector has holographic element.

9. the virtual image display apparatus according to any one of claim 1 ~ 7, is characterized in that,

Described virtual image display apparatus also has amplification light guide section, and the described image light 2 penetrated from described optical element amplifies by this amplification light guide section with tieing up,

Described amplification light guide section possesses:

Light incident section, described image light incides this light incident section;

First amplifies light guide section, its there is the first reflecting surface of being obliquely installed to the incident direction of described smooth incident section incidence relative to described image light and be arranged in parallel with described first reflecting surface, a part for described image light is reflected and make a part for described image light through the second reflecting surface; And

Second amplifies light guide section, and it leads to through the described image light after described second reflecting surface.

10. the virtual image display apparatus according to any one of claim 1 ~ 9, is characterized in that,

The light source that described image production part possesses injection light and the photoscanner that the described light penetrated from this light source is scanned.

11. virtual image display apparatus according to any one of claim 1 ~ 9, is characterized in that,

The spatial light modulating apparatus that described image production part possesses light source and modulates the light penetrated from this light source based on described signal of video signal.

12. virtual image display apparatus according to any one of claim 1 ~ 9, is characterized in that,

Described image production part has organic EL panel.

13. 1 kinds of head mounted displays, is characterized in that,

Described head mounted display possesses the virtual image display apparatus according to any one of claim 1 ~ 12, and is installed on the head of observer.

14. head mounted displays according to claim 13, is characterized in that,

Described optical element is configured to, and under the state of head being installed on described observer, the left eye of described observer and the direction of right eye arrangement amplifies the sectional area of the described image light of the described outgoing plane injection from described optical element.